Power Rangers: Worlds, Times and Distances Apart
by lauraac2110
Summary: During a freak accident, all the evils of the world returned. Now, Tommy Oliver, the greatest ranger to ever live, has been tasked to find all of the separated Rangers by Zordon of Eltar. Will he be able to do it? Or will all end?
1. Prologue: The Beginning of The End

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own Power Rangers. Unfortunately, Disney and Saban have that honour. I do, however, own the rights to IRMA who is the only character I've introduced to the story so far. I'd ask that if you want to use her in a novel of your own that you ask my permission first. _

Note, see my Author News Blog for information about the upcoming chapters for this novel and for my other novel Before Redemption.

_Lauraac2110_

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

_**Distances**_

Prologue: The Beginning of the End

_There will always be evil. No matter how hard we try, there will always be someone who wants to destroy the world or who wants to rule supreme above everyone else. But, no matter how tough those who are evil get, there will always be warriors of good to defend the world from their evil ways. These people, usually teenagers, are known as the Power Rangers. There have been many Power Rangers who have battled many evils over the years as they attempted to destroy the world or rule it for themselves. From Rita Repulsa to Dai Shi, from Lord Zedd, his son Thrax and brother-in-law Rito, to Venjix. They keep popping up again and again and, after a long struggle, the Power Rangers lead to their downfall before they can actually achieve their ultimate evil goals. _

_What happens, though, when evil does win? What happens when all of the Power Rangers are scattered throughout time and space? What happens when all of them are needed to fight the greatest evil ever known to mankind together whilst they are all so far apart? How are the Power Rangers meant to defend Earth then?_

_That is the nightmare that I am now facing. The greatest enemies of the Power Rangers have been restored to life during a freak accident and, now, the threat of them banding together is very real. However, this freak accident has not been a total disaster. _

_It has also had one benefit. I, Zordon of Eltar, was resurrected and returned to my true form by this accident. Without hesitation, I quickly returned to Earth but, fortunately, I did not return as they had known me to be otherwise we might have had somewhat of a problem._

_Tommy Oliver, the greatest Power Ranger to ever live, and I have been reunited. Now, we quest together to find the Power Rangers who, due to the tragedy of the Venjix virus, have been separated to all corners of the world. Then, we plan to bring them all together to form a defence against evil before the final battle comes. _

_Our task has one major obstacle facing it. The many evils who have returned, with the exceptions of Venjix, who has remained dead to our great relief, and Rita, who became the good Mystic Mother, will be looking for any excuse to destroy us. They know that Earth will fall under their control if a strong enough defence is not in place soon to stop them from achieving their goal of world domination._

_We do not know if all of the Power Rangers have survived or not because of the fact that Tommy has been in hiding for the past two years so he has been considerably out of touch. All we do know is that Corinth City is the place where we have to start our search for them. The RPM Power Rangers, thankfully, are still there on active service. On top of them, we also hope that some of the other Power Rangers did manage to find refuge there too._

_From our present location, Corinth is many miles away. Our quest may become extremely dangerous but we are fortunate that we have my powers as a sage and Tommy's restored Ranger powers to protect us. The Universal Morphing Grid and I have restored all but his temporary Turbo Powers so that he can once again fight evil in the name of all things Good. _

_With that amount of power at his command, Tommy and I know that he has become extremely dangerous. However, I believe that he will put the Powers to good use because I trust him not to misuse them. After all, he is the greatest Ranger to have ever lived and I do not think that he would have earned that reputation without deserving it because of all the good deeds he has done._

_Anyway, the story to my resurrection begins with the freak accident that has had so many far reaching consequences. A freak irreversible accident which has also caused the unthinkable to happen._

_Most of the great evils have returned much stronger than they ever were before._

_Our quest could all end in tragedy. Whether we are successful or not all depends upon the man who has become known as the greatest Power Ranger to ever live and, although Tommy Oliver knows it not, he and I are very similar in many different ways. Both of us have great powers but Tommy is yet to discover his. When he does finally find out, all he knows, if it has not already, will change forever. I believe, though, that he will be able to defeat Evil in the end._

_After all, the fate of the entire universe currently hangs in the balance and, if we fail, the universe may end up being plunged into everlasting darkness..._


	2. Chapter 1: The Accident

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 1: The Accident

_Corinth City 2010, The Final Battle, early morning_

The RPM Power Rangers were hard pressed against Venjix. And boy did they know it. Their Megazords has just been disabled, but not destroyed, and hundreds of Grinders were pouring into the city through the shield breach that Venjix's forces had created. Fortunately, the Corinth Defence Force was dealing with them which allowed the Power Rangers, on the other hand, to face Venjix in the centre of town with Tenaya 15's assistance.

The area they were battling in was a demolition site. All the nearby buildings had been destroyed, cars were burning and debris had been scattered everywhere. The smoke from the burning cars was putrid, and thick, which made all attacks against Venjix useless as none of them could see him. However, Venjix couldn't see the RPM Power Rangers either, though, which was the only reason that they were still alive at that moment.

They stood together in a tight ring and all of them knew that this battle could potentially be their last stand. Venjix's new attack bot version was tough but, luckily, it would be the last version if they could destroy it as Venjix's palace had already been destroyed by the Megazords at a price earlier on in the battle.

_Corinth City, RPM Command Centre, at that very moment_

Although the destruction of the palace had caused the destruction of the original computer core, at that moment, in the RPM Command Centre, Dr K. was frantically trying to upload a virus onto the Internet so that all of the backup copies of the Venjix virus could be destroyed to prevent Venjix from ever rising again. She was almost finished but, even if she did destroy the virus, the RPM Power Rangers still had to destroy Venjix before it was too late.

They only problem was that the odds weren't in their favour. Their suits were running drastically low on power and, by Dr K.'s calculations, they were in a lot of trouble.

_Reefside, Dino Thunder Command Centre, Tommy Oliver's hideout, early morning, also at that very moment_

None of the RPM Power Rangers knew that, at that very moment, Tommy Oliver, the greatest Power Ranger to ever live, was watching them from the old Dino Thunder Command Centre using one of the most powerful government satellites in orbit.

Tommy was praying that the RPM Power Rangers could do it because, if they failed, there would be no one left to defend the Earth from Venjix. And, if Earth fell under Venjix's control, Tommy knew that he would probably either have to surrender or leave the planet. Neither of which were pleasant options.

The government satellite was detecting an unusual energy fluctuation near them at that moment. It puzzled Tommy but, to be honest, he didn't think it was that serious compared to everything else that was happening at that moment.

That was his first mistake. Tommy Oliver had absolutely no idea just how serious that unusual energy fluctuation would become. He had no idea that it would quickly lead to a series of events that would change his life forever.

Instead of bothering about the energy fluctuation, Tommy was instead watching the RPM Power Rangers as they huddled together in a ring amongst the smoke. Unlike the RPM Power Rangers, he could see right through the smoke and Venjix was only inches away from them now. In a way, Tommy was glad that the smoke hid Venjix from them as they didn't realise just how close Venjix was to them. If they did, he was sure that they would've done something stupid.

Tommy's thoughts suddenly drifted to his friends, his family and the other teams of Power Rangers who had been separated in so many ways by this tragedy. One day, he hoped that he would be able to search for them so that he could find out whether or not they had died, lived in the labour camps or escaped Venjix's forces.

Little did he realise that he would soon get his wish. Just not exactly in the way that he often fantasised he would.

_Corinth City, The Final Battle, early morning_

Meanwhile, in Corinth, Dillon had finally figured out how they were going to destroy Venjix. What he didn't realise was that his plan would cause an accident which would put the world in even more danger than it was already in currently.

"Guys, I've still got enough power to hold up an invincibility shield for ten seconds. If we combine the remainder of our energy, we could cause an explosion large enough to destroy Venjix!" Dillon hissed. "I would be able to protect us from that explosion although at considerable risk to my own life."

"Are you crazy? Do you think that it would really work?" Scott exclaimed. "Besides, we're not risking your life just to destroy Venjix!"

"Damn it Scott, I'm dying anyway," he growled as he paused for a long moment.

"As each day passes, the Venjix virus is killing off more of my cells because it has mutated into a biological virus so, even if we don't do this, I'll die very soon anyway. If I die destroying Venjix then at least I'll be dying for a good cause," he explained as he revealed his great secret which he had been hiding from them for a long time. Summer looked at him in shock.

"It can't be true. Dillon?" she pleaded as she turned to look at him like everyone else. She found that she was barely able to raise her voice above a whisper due to the fact that she was stunned to the core. Tenaya 15 nodded grimly.

"I'm afraid that what he has said is true. Dillon is dying Summer," she replied quietly. Summer was now almost in tears as she couldn't quite believe that this was happening. Dillon squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"It's all right, Summer. I've accepted that I'll die and I'm not afraid of death. We've only got one chance to end the threat that Venjix poses to reasonable people so we've got to create the explosion now before Venjix finds us," Dillon reassured whilst trying to sound as if he was ready to risk his life. However, his visor concealed the true tears that were now pouring down his cheeks because he had never quite found the time to tell Summer how he felt about her. However, Dillon had quickly decided that he was prepared to risk his life to save everything that he had ever cared about. And Summer.

After all, he was dying anyway and a quick death was much preferable to a prolonged, painful one.

"Right. We're going to do this together!" Scott said as he made his mind up. He was going to give Dillon's plan a chance. Since he was dying anyway, Scott knew that Dillon would rather die in glory than in prolonged agony and Scott planned to give him what he wanted.

As soon as Scott had finished speaking, they began to charge up their remaining powers into one final powerful energy burst. Since it was their last chance to destroy Venjix, they gathered all the energy that they had as the consequences of their failure were too great. However, they had no idea at that moment that the consequences of their success would be even greater and more terrible than they could ever imagine.

_Reefside, Dino Thunder Command Centre, Tommy Oliver's hideout, early morning, at that moment_

"You're not going to die on me, Ranger Operator Series Black," Tommy said firmly to himself as he quickly prepared the emergency antidote for the mutated Venjix virus. He had been working on it for months since he had noticed that the virus had mutated in Dillon and, a few days ago, he had finally found the cure.

"No Power Ranger has ever actually met that fate before, as Kendrix was revived by Zordon's power in the Quasar Sabers, so I don't intend to let you be the first," Tommy continued. "Especially if I can prevent your death."

As soon as he had finished talking to himself, Tommy frantically called up the Universal Morphing Grid so that he could send the antidote to Summer. As the explosion destroyed Venjix, Tommy hacked into Dr K.'s computer system so that he could communicate with Summer without being detected by Dr K.'s advanced security firewalls. If he could have, Tommy would have just remained a silent observer in these events but he had to let her know that it was actually the antidote she was holding in her hands so that she could give it to Dillon before it was too late.

"Ranger Operator Series Yellow, Summer, I'm sending you an antidote for the mutated Venjix Virus. You must use this on Dillon as soon as you can," Tommy said calmly through the communication link he had set up.

"Who are you? What do you mean?" she asked instantly.

"Call me a friend, Summer, as you can trust me. Dillon should survive this now as the antidote will get rid of the virus from his body," Tommy said as he paused. "Perhaps someday we'll..."

Suddenly, his mistake came back to haunt him and interrupted him in mid-sentence. Several dozen warning messages suddenly appeared on-screen as the most serious warning alarm went off in the Dino Thunder Command Centre.

The unusual energy fluctuation had, somehow, increased because of the explosion and the readings for evil energy were completely off the scales. As Tommy quickly investigated further, he was horrified to find that Venjix was so evil that the evil energy Venjix possessed had been powerful enough to resurrect other evil spirits in the process and give them a significant power boost as well. Unfortunately, Tommy was now too late to stop it. However, he did notice that some good energy had been released and that it was now rapidly heading towards Eltar.

"No... this can't be happening..." Tommy said in disbelief as he rapidly checked the readings to make sure that they were accurate. They were.

"What do you mean?" Summer asked instantly as the sudden change in the tone of his voice concerned her.

"Things have just gotten a great deal worse so don't be celebrating just yet, Summer. It seems that we've got a much bigger problem so we might just be meeting in person sooner than I thought. Warn your team-mates that Venjix won't be the end of your problems. Goodbye," Tommy replied as he shut off the communication link.

_Great, we're in a great deal of trouble now. As Venjix was so powerful, the evil energy its destruction has released will have revived many evil spirits and freed a few of those imprisoned within the Abyss of Evil. I just wish I knew what we could do about them... _Tommy thought._ I just wish that Zordon was here._

After taking a moment to take in everything that had happened, he decided to begin tracing the evil energy waves to their recipients so that he could check which evils had returned. It was something, after all, that they were desperately going to need to know.

_Corinth City, The Aftermath, mid-morning_

When the explosion finally cleared, the true extent of the damage that the explosion had caused was revealed to the RPM Power Rangers. All of the empty buildings nearby had been reduced to rubble, the ground was scorched black and the stench of burnt carbon overwhelmed them.

They were relieved, though, that they were all still alive. They had all forcibly been powered down. Summer was still confused about what the stranger had told her so she was standing there, still in a dazed state of shock, whilst the other Power Rangers checked that Venjix had definitely been destroyed first. Then, Flynn checked all of the injuries as everyone had been injured in some way during the battle. It was Dillon, though, who was worst affected by injury. He had been right about the great risk to himself as he now lay on the burnt ground, unconscious, and very close to death.

Flynn instantly went to him and turned him over as Tenaya 15 watched almost in a state of shock.

"He's dying! The virus is killing him!" Flynn exclaimed as he checked Dillon for the various signs of life. Dillon's heartbeat was weak but his pulse was almost non-existent and he was having difficulty breathing. Summer remembered the stranger's words and then looked down to her hands to check if the syringe containing the antidote was there. It was. She knew that Dillon's only hope rested in her hands but there was just one problem.

Summer was unsure whether she should use it or not.

"You've got to do something! He's my brother! You've got to save him!" Tenaya 15 almost screeched. "He can't die! Not after everything he has done for me and for Corinth!"

Summer paused for a moment as she wondered whether she could trust the stranger's words or not but she knew that she had to act quickly. Dillon wouldn't survive until they could get him back to Dr K so, if anything was going to be done to save him, it had to be done now.

"Flynn, this is the antidote. Use it," Summer said as she made her mind up and held out the syringe in her hand to him.

They all looked at her in shock.

"Where did you get that?" Scott asked instantly.

"There's no time to explain how I ended up with this antidote right now. I promise, though, that I'll explain everything later. Use the antidote, Flynn, before it's too late," Summer replied.

Flynn nodded as he took the syringe from her and injected its full contents into Dillon's arm. He knew that they would just have to chance it as the antidote was their last, and only, hope of saving Dillon's life even though no one had any idea what was in it. There were a few hesitant seconds in which nothing happened before everyone noticed an instant difference in Dillon. He was breathing easier and Flynn quickly discovered that his pulse had grown stronger. At that moment, Dr K. contacted them from the Command Centre.

"Rangers, I have uploaded the virus to the internet. It will destroy any copies that Venjix made of itself. Report," she demanded.

"The original Venjix has been destroyed but... Summer has got some explaining to do," Ziggy confirmed. Everyone glared at Summer as they now wanted her promised explanation.

"I'll tell you everything as we head back to the Command Centre," she assured.

As they headed back, Summer explained everything to everyone. She told them about the stranger on the communication link and how she had received the antidote. Between them, Scott and Flynn were carrying Dillon and they were struggling to support his weight because he was so heavy so they were at the back of the group.

"But that is impossible! If this stranger did hack into my computer system, I should have known instantly. Besides, they would need to have extensive knowledge of the Universal Morphing Grid to get around my defences and no one, not even I, has that kind of knowledge," Dr K. exclaimed as she began to run checks to check if someone actually had hacked into her system.

"Well, someone out there obviously does have that knowledge, Dr K.. Someone who, I might add, has probably just saved Dillon's life. Summer's "stranger" seems to know more about Power Rangers than you. And you're our resident expert," Scott replied.

"If I may interrupt, I've got a possible explanation for you," Gem chipped in. "At Alphabet Soup, we heard on numerous occasions that the government officials were trying to replicate the powers of the Power Rangers. There were rumours that there were other Power Ranger teams fighting evil in other places so it could be that another Power Ranger has survived the Venjix invasion in hiding somewhere in the world."

"What we do know, is that he warned us that something much worse than Venjix is coming. As I said, he was fine until something changed at his end. Then, he grew all serious and said to me that I had to warn the rest of you that Venjix wasn't the end of our problems. Before he cut off, he said that we would meet in person sooner than he thought." Summer replied. "Can you trace the communication link, Dr K.?"

"No because he has covered his tracks exceptionally well. Bring Dillon back to the Command Centre so that I can check him over," Dr K. replied as she finished the system checks. There were no traces anywhere that her system had been compromised even though she grudgingly admitted to herself at that moment that it had to have been. "I will inform Colonel Truman about what has happened immediately."

"We'll be back soon K.," Flynn promised.

"Hey Dr K., can I ask something?" Gemma asked before she shut down the communication link.

"Go ahead, Gemma," she replied.

"Our powers... we'll be able to..." she began.

"You will be able to morph again. Rest assured, Gemma," Dr K. smiled. "The suits and the morphers were damaged. The damage is nothing that I cannot repair, though. Dr K. out."

As she sat there in the Command Centre, after she had shut down the communication link, Dr K. bit her lip. This surprising turn of events had her rather worried because she had a feeling, just like the stranger had warned, that things were about to get a whole lot worse. This stranger, though, was someone that she wanted to meet because he had more knowledge of the Universal Morphing Grid than she did and she wanted to know why.

She took a moment to collect her thoughts. Then, she contacted the Colonel and, slowly, she began to inform him of what had just happened.

_Reefside, Dino Thunder Command Centre, Tommy Oliver's hideout, late morning_

Tommy had finally traced all of the evil energy to the villains which had been revived. He was glad that Venjix wasn't amongst those who had been revived but he was quite surprised by just who had been restored Venjix's evil energy. Alone, all of them were powerful, dangerous enemies but, if they ever combined together, Tommy knew that they would have the potential to cause absolute devastation because there was little which could stand in their way. This was not what worried Tommy the most, though.

No, what worried him the most was the fact that their scheming generals had also been revived as well. With their generals, the main villains would be even more difficult to defeat as many of the generals had the power to easily create entire armies to pit against the Power Rangers.

The one thing that didn't worry him, though, was the good energy that had been transmitted to Eltar as he knew that it would bring him aid. It meant that he would soon no longer be alone in this struggle and that thought relieved him somewhat.

As his computer transferred all of his files onto a small hard drive, he was busy packing away the morphers that he had recovered. He had all of the Dino morphers and all of his previous morphers too except for his Red Turbo morpher which Tommy hoped was in the hands of his replacement, TJ.

Tommy had also already stored a great of equipment away safely anyway so all he was doing now was collecting things that he had felt that he needed to keep especially close in case of an emergency. He had already rebuilt the Biozords before the Venjix crisis.

Most importantly, though, Tommy had managed to recover the Dragon Power Coin and the Dragonzord as well. Although Tommy couldn't control them without his Green Ranger powers, he had been relieved that he had found them to prevent them from ever falling into evil's hands again.

His biggest achievement over the past two years had been the rebuilding of the Falconzord, the Tigerzord, the Super Zeozord V, the Zeozord V and the Red Battlezord. Finding the parts for them had been difficult because Venjix controlled nearly everything in the world but he had managed to find the parts for Zords and to use plans for them to rebuild them exactly as they had once been with a few slight modifications here and there.

He had all the plans for all the Zords, weapons and equipment used by all of the Power Rangers to have ever existed. This quest to hold all the information about all the Rangers that had ever, as far as the Universal Morphing Grid knew, existed had spanned worlds, time and distances which had been a difficult barrier to overcome. Tommy had been helped by Billy, whilst he was residing on Aquitar with his beloved Cestria, as much as possible before the Venjix invasion. In fact, they had finished their quest for knowledge less than a week before the Venjix invasion two years ago. Their last contact, though, had been on that fated day as the invasion began.

Even now, Tommy could remember everything that they had said to each other that day as he sat there in the chair and closed his eyes. Even the chaotic background noise still buzzed in the depths of his mind as if he was living through that fateful day all over again.

"_Billy we've got a major problem! An AI computer virus called Venjix has begun a final war against humanity. I'm safe but I was too late to warn anyone else," Tommy had called through the communication link. He was almost in tears that day_ _because his family and friends were out there_ _but he had held them back because he knew that there was nothing that he could do for them. Strangely, one person in particular had been at the forefront of his mind as he had sat there. Kimberly. _

_Billy too was equally distressed as he thought about his friends and family back home. He shook his head._

"_Tommy, there isn't anything that we can do for them now. You're alive and you're going to have to remain in hiding to keep the knowledge of the Power Rangers alive for as long as you possibly can. You've got to do it, Tommy, regardless of the fact that your friends and family are out there, because we can't afford to let Venjix find out about the secrets of the Power Rangers. Venjix will kill you for the knowledge that you possess," Billy said as the explosion which had destroyed his house had gone off outside. The force of the explosion had shaken the whole Command Centre._

_Tommy had nodded in reply as he quietly considered his options for a moment. "I feel like everything I am is being torn in two. I want to help them, as it's part of my nature, but you're right, Billy. If I go out there, I'll be putting more than myself in danger. I'll be putting the whole world in danger."_

_Billy nodded as he adjusted his glasses. "Sometimes, a great hero has to make great personal sacrifices to save the world. You must go now, Tommy, because_ _you'll be in great danger_ _if that computer virus traces this communication. Goodbye, old friend and good luck. Contact me the day Venjix is destroyed. I'll be waiting for you." _

"_I will," Tommy promised._

_The communication link had instantly shut down at that moment. Tommy was alone._

_Everything was quiet outside now and Tommy knew that the invasion must not have taken long to subdue any major resistance or the noise would have continued for a while yet. He closed his eyes then as he knew that many countless innocents would suffer because he couldn't risk any attempts to help them. There and then, he almost gave up but he soon remembered Billy and all the others who were counting on him to survive for as long as possible. This thought strengthened Tommy enough to give surviving a try so he got out of his chair and set to work._

Since that day, Tommy had survived against all the odds. And, now, here he was, no worse for wear, two years later. His only fault was that he was just a little scruffy as he was currently wearing the clothes that he had been wearing that day two years ago. Two years ago, he had also expanded the Brachiozord into a massive storage Zord, which could hold the Zords for all the teams of Power Rangers, and a Command Centre. It had been difficult to hide it but he had done so by making it appear to be a large mountain near Reefside. Due to their poor programming, the Grinders couldn't tell the difference between it and the real thing so it had remained hidden after all this time.

Tommy finished packing up all of his gear at that moment and began to transfer it all into one of the Brachiozord's many empty storage bays. He then calmly activated his computer to send an automatic message to Billy complete with Corinth's co-ordinates like he had promised.

"Venjix has been destroyed, Billy, but I bet that you already know. You had better come to Corinth City, Billy, as soon as possible as we've got a massive problem that I'll need you to help to fix. Warn the Rangers who are in space that their greatest enemies have returned!" Tommy said as he recorded his message. He then transmitted it on his highly encrypted communication wavelength to Aquitar and hoped that Billy would get it soon before it was too late.

_Eltar, Zordon's Resting Place, late morning_

It was at that moment, much to the surprise of Alpha 5, that Zordon was revived by the good energy Venjix's destruction had unleashed. It happened so suddenly that Zordon was restored and healed completely before Alpha could even react. He had long watched over Zordon's final resting place in a tranquil grove on Eltar and he had certainly never expected the sage to rise up from the dead again.

Zordon sat up, inhaling a deep breath as he did so, and turned to his ever loyal robot, Alpha 5.

"Ai, Ai, Ai, Zordon, you're alive!" Alpha exclaimed. "Ai, Ai, Ai, but you were meant to be dead!"

Zordon, restored as he once was; an old man dressed in white with white hair and gentle blue eyes, smiled as he picked up his silver wood staff that rested at his side. "I was restored by an accident that has also restored many great evils, Alpha. It will require all the Power Rangers to ever have existed to put things right again so we must leave for Earth immediately!"

Alpha started running around in circles. He knew of the situation on Earth because Billy had been keeping him informed. He waved his arms frantically. "Ai, Ai, Ai, where would we find them? The Venjix virus has separated them all!"

"Alpha, we can start by finding Tommy Oliver. If anyone can find the others then he can because he is the greatest Power Ranger to have ever lived. Besides, I can now restore any Power Rangers to the Morphing Grid. It might be useful for me to restore him first because he has such a wide range of powers," he replied as he paused for a moment to use the Morphing Grid to find Tommy before he prepared to leave.

"I have used the Universal Morphing Grid to find him and I am about to take us to Earth. Be prepared for a bit of a bumpy ride, Alpha," Zordon warned as they vanished in a flash of light.

_Reefside, Dino Thunder Command Centre, Tommy Oliver's hideout, late morning_

As Zordon appeared before him, Tommy was ready to leave for Corinth City. The data from his system was now on the hard drive and the drive had been hidden away somewhere deep within the Brachiozord so that its contents could never be used for evil. He had changed into his cleanest clothes, a white shirt and black trousers, and had shut the hideout down by wiping the computer system to prevent the data from falling into evil's hands. The flash of white light Zordon's appearance had created was overwhelming but Tommy fell onto one knee, even though he couldn't see anything, as he had guessed this would happen almost as soon as he had traced the good energy to Eltar. He was on one knee because he knew that he had to be respectful towards his mentor and the greatest force of good to have ever existed.

"Zordon," Tommy said respectfully with his head bowed.

"Ah, Tommy. You have been expecting me?" he asked with a smile as the light cleared completely. Tommy was still on one knee and was slightly surprised by the fact that Zordon had been completely restored. He was also surprised that Alpha 5 had returned with his mentor.

"Yes, I've been expecting you ever since that beam of energy went to Eltar. However, I didn't quite expect you to be returned like this. You look rather well," Tommy replied as he got up. "Alpha, buddy, it's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, dude!" Alpha said as he hugged Tommy tightly. Tommy winced and Alpha let him go as soon as he detected his discomfort.

"Tommy, you are aware of what is going on, are you not?" Zordon said. Tommy nodded.

"Yes, Zordon, I'm well aware of what happened. I happened to be monitoring the situation this morning but, unfortunately, I was too late to do anything to stop it," he replied. "I did, though, barely manage to keep the latest Black Ranger alive."

"Tommy, give me all of your morphers. We have very little time now," Zordon commanded. Tommy nodded and left to collected the box which contained his morphers from the Brachiozord. When he returned several minutes later, he opened it and held it out to Zordon.

Zordon put his hands over the morphers and closed his eyes. The morphers were soon surrounded by a slight glow and Tommy knew that Zordon had restored them. Then, Zordon reopened his eyes and nodded to Tommy to confirm that he could take them. Carefully, Tommy took out all of his morphers from the box. Then, he put his three Power Coins away in one pocket and returned the Black Dino Gem to his left wrist with one half of the Red Zeonizer. Finally, he put the other half of the Zeonizer on his right.

"Are you sure that I can handle much power, Zordon? What happens if I'm corrupted by evil?" Tommy asked. "Aren't you taking a big risk?"

Zordon shook his head.

"Not at all. You have been incorruptible for a long time, Tommy Oliver, as you have got such a pure heart even though some evil does exist within you. Anyway, we must get going as the latest batch of Rangers will soon need your help," Zordon replied with a slight smile.

_And you are more like me than you realise. When you find out, your life will never be the same again._ Zordon thought as Tommy nodded.

"Besides, we must find the other Power Rangers as well," Alpha 5 said. "Where are we going to start looking for them?"

"Corinth City, Alpha. It just so happens that I also have just the way to get there," Tommy replied with a smile. "Although it might take us while."

He led them to the Brachiozord, his favourite Zord so far, and into the cockpit which he had styled like a Command Centre. Then, he started up the launch sequences, let the Brachiozord calmly shake off the sand and programmed in their destination.

"I can only hope that we make it before we're too late," Tommy replied. "Evil will strike Corinth soon, I know it."

"Yes. A bustling city like that will be a good target for evil," Zordon agreed as the Brachiozord began to charge through the wasteland at full speed. Its destination was Corinth City.

Tommy sat back in his chair. It was going to take them a while before they arrived. Tommy just hoped that the RPM Power Rangers could hold on until they got there. Otherwise, he was going to have somewhat of a major problem...

_Corinth City, RPM Command Centre, late morning, at that very moment_

At that very moment, Dr K. hung over the unconscious Dillon as she scanned him using her scanner. The other RPM Power Rangers and Tenaya 15 were waiting anxiously nearby for the results of her tests.

"It appears that the antidote was a cure after all as there are no signs of the mutated virus in his body at all," she finally concluded after she had triple-checked her results.

"What about Dillon? Will he be all right?" Tenaya 15 asked anxiously.

"Your brother will live. Now, if you will excuse me, the suits need to be repaired and diagnostic checks need to be run on the Zords. Gemma, you and Flynn come with me to help me run diagnostic checks on the Zords. Tenaya, Summer, you stay here with Dillon. Gem, Ziggy and Scott, go help the Corinth Defence Force with the clean-up of Corinth," Dr K. ordered. They nodded.

Once everyone else had left, Summer and Tenaya looked at each other anxiously. Then, they looked to Dillon.

_Please be all right, Dillon. _They thought.

Seconds later, one of the alarms in the RPM Command Centre went off and Summer looked up sharply.

"What now?" she wondered aloud. "I had better find out about what has happened."

_Aquitar, Billy Cranston's home, late morning, also at that very moment_

As he sat at his computer analysing Tommy's message, Billy sighed. It was clear to him that Tommy was going to need his help but he didn't want to leave Aquitar.

He turned to Cestria, who stood behind him, and sighed. He knew that she knew exactly what he was thinking and he was seeking her advice about what they should do.

"I'll pack what we'll need on Earth," she assured him as she made the decision about whether they were leaving or not for him. As she set to work, Billy sighed again.

The universe, as he knew it, would soon change forever. Whether it would change for good, or for ill, he didn't know. All he did know was that Earth, as it usually was, would be in the eye of the storm. Evil knew that the rest of the universe would soon be theirs if they captured the planet.

All that now stood in their way were the Power Rangers of past, present and, hopefully, future. Whether they would be enough to prevent the evils from conquering the universe or not, Billy didn't know either.

All he did know was that things were only going to get more dangerous from this moment onwards.


	3. Chapter 2: And So It Begins

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 2: And So It Begins

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City,_ _Brachiozord Command Centre, early afternoon_

"Alpha, how long until we arrive at Corinth?" Zordon asked from the main Command Chair. It was fitting that it was adorned with white leather as Zordon was the greatest force of good to have ever existed. Alpha brought up the time of arrival on the viewing screen in reply to Zordon's question.

"It might take us an hour or so, Zordon. I'm confident that the RPM Power Rangers will be able to defend Corinth until we arrive, though," Tommy assured.

Behind the numbers, the screen acted like a window so that they could see out the Brachiozord to their surroundings. However, all they could see in all directions was sand which saddened Zordon as the memories that he had of Earth were a complete contrast to what he now saw before him. He remembered a diverse lively planet but all that he could see before him was dead. The land had been reduced to a shadow of what it had once been by Venjix and its forces.

At that very moment, an automatic alarm went off and the pale yellow lighting in the room suddenly turned red. The system had just detected an attack on Corinth City so it quickly brought up live images of what was happening down there.

"Ai, Ai, Ai, it's Goldar! He's attacking Corinth City!" Alpha exclaimed as he panicked. "We'll never make it in time!"

Tommy sighed. "And so it begins," he said grimly.

It was clear to Tommy that drastic measures were now required to stop the RPM Power Rangers from being destroyed by Goldar. Tommy knew that they didn't have their powers and their Zords were likely to be out of commission so, to put it simply, they were going to be completely out of their depth when they faced his enemy. He was certain that the RPM Power Rangers were going to need his help to survive until the end of the day.

"Alpha, the big red button over there might be the RPM Power Rangers' only hope. Press it," Tommy commanded grimly as he sat down in the leather chair by the console area that he was working at.

Alpha scanned the console until he found it. The big red button rested in a large glass case at the top of the console with a very large warning sign painted onto it. Hesitantly, Alpha lifted the case up and pressed the button.

"What does it do?" Alpha asked instantly.

"No time to explain. You better sit down!" Tommy warned as he grabbed onto the console and braced himself for what was about to come. Zordon instantly held tightly to the sides of his chair as the Brachiozord morphed into a very large black jet. Once the engines got up to full power, the jet left a trail of blue smoke as it took off.

This caused Alpha to quickly be thrown back into his chair because of the force the engines had created. With hyper drives installed, the Brachiozord, if it really had to, could travel faster than the speed of sound which meant that their journey to Corinth wouldn't take as long as it would have if the Brachiozord had just run at full speed.

"It worked. Corinth City, here we come!" Tommy exclaimed excitedly. He was ecstatic that it had actually worked because many of the components of the Brachiozord hadn't been tested beyond the simple theoretical tests to prevent Venjix from finding him. Tommy had no idea if many of the components would actually work or not. He hadn't told Alpha or Zordon about this fact, though.

"Tommy, you may have to use your Green Ranger powers to battle Goldar. Without the power of the Dragonzord, he will be a tough and dangerous opponent to beat," Zordon warned. "Additionally, your other forms will not be able to handle repeated attacks from Goldar's powerful sword."

"I understand, Zordon," Tommy said quietly. Deep inside of him, he confronted his evil past for a moment before he quickly brushed it aside. "Corinth ETA approximately ten minutes."

_Just hold on RPM Power Rangers until we arrive. _Tommy thought as he sat there quietly. He wasn't looking forward to battling Goldar as the Green Ranger. He had been glad to put his past behind him all those years ago because the Green Ranger embodied all that he should never have become. Evil. However, now, he was going to have to face it again.

Although it wasn't his choice to become the Green Ranger, as Rita had cast an evil spell over him, whilst he had been under her control it had certainly felt like it had. He had hurt so many people and, even to this day, he was still trying to make up for his mistakes back then. He still didn't feel like he had been forgiven even though everyone used to repeatedly say that they had forgiven him but perhaps this was because the memories of how close he had come to destroying his friends still haunted him even to this day.

Tommy sighed. With the Dragon Power Coin in his hand, he closed his eyes and began to prepare himself for its use.

_Corinth City, early afternoon, many minutes later_

"This guy's tough!" Scott groaned as he and the rest of the RPM Power Rangers lay there on the ground. They were all badly injured because they had been useless against this monster as they didn't have their powers to protect them. They knew that they were now likely to be destroyed by this monster because Dillon was still out cold so, as far as they knew, no one else would be coming to help them.

They didn't know who this monster was. Dr K., who was completely puzzled by its appearance, didn't know either. It was, however, Goldar. He hadn't changed a bit since the old days as he still looked like a hound and still wore his golden armour to protect him from their weakened attacks.

The RPM Power Rangers clawed dirt as they tried to get back up onto their feet.

"Foolish Power Rangers. You haven't changed a bit since the old days because you don't give up despite the fact that the overwhelming odds are against you. I'll destroy you!" he roared as he took up his sword and prepared himself to make the final strike.

At that moment, Tommy made his appearance. A beam of coloured light, which was a strange mix of all the Ranger colours Tommy had ever been, crashed through the shield. As the beam hit the ground, the force of the impact caused the ground to tremble slightly. All of the RPM Power Rangers were forced to turn away from the light due to how bright it was. When the light finally subsided, Tommy stood there with his arms crossed. He shook his head.

"You!" Goldar hissed instantly.

"It seems that I still have that effect on people," Tommy smiled as he took off his glasses and took out his Dragon Power Coin. "How've you been Goldar? Last I heard, you were spending eternity in the spirit realm. You really should have stayed there.".

"I'll destroy you Tommy Oliver!" he roared angrily. To Tommy, it seemed that Goldar hadn't forgotten him. It was clear that he hadn't also still gotten over his grudge against him as well.

The curse of being a Power Rangers were grudges. Truly evil beings always held them against Power Rangers since they could never usually forgive them for meddling in their affairs and it meant that Power Rangers always had to keep looking over their shoulder, even if the being in question had been destroyed, in case the evil being or his minions wanted revenge.

Tommy sighed as he held the Dragon Power Coin out. "Have it your way, Goldar. If destruction is what you want then destruction is what you'll get at my hands," Tommy warned. "It's Morphin' Time! Dragonzord!"

He activated the Power Coin and morphed into the Green Power Ranger at that moment. It had been a long time since he had last taken this form so the memories which were now running through his mind were both bitter and sweet. He had committed so many evil acts as the Green Ranger but, since then, he had also atoned for all of his mistakes. The RPM Rangers watched him with stunned expressions on their faces.

"Wow," was all Scott could say as he and other RPM Power Rangers were completely lost for words.

"Stay back," Tommy warned them as he drew the Dragon Dagger. "I'll deal with Goldar."

Tommy charged at Goldar then. They fought back and forth, back and forth, and every time Goldar's sword clashed with the Dragon Dagger sparks flew. It took only minutes for Tommy to fall back into his comfortable battle style because being a Power Ranger had been so much a part of his life. No matter what happened, he couldn't forget everything that he had learned during active service despite the fact that he hadn't been able to use his skills for a long time.

"Give up, Goldar! I don't just have one morpher this time. I've got five of them so I can battle you all day if I have to," Tommy warned as they continued to fight back and forth. Eventually, with a cheap strike to the chest, Goldar forced Tommy out of his Green Ranger form. Tommy tumbled away but quickly managed to get back up onto his feet. He then decided to try to use his newer powers to gain the upper hand in this battle. He flicked out the key for his Brachio Morpher as it instantly appeared on his left arm.

"Dino Thunder, power up! Ha!" he called as he unlocked his Black Dino Ranger form and morphed. This was one of his favourite forms and Tommy felt good to be back in it.

"Brachio Staff, energy orb!" Tommy said as he drew the Brachio staff, created an energy orb and sent it flying towards Goldar with a strike. As it struck Goldar, he was smashed into a nearby ruined wall which was so fragile that the loose bricks crumbled on top of him. However, instead of stopping there, Tommy pressed his advantage with a second energy orb which destroyed Goldar.

"Power down," he said calmly as he powered down once he had fired the second energy orb.

The RPM Rangers instantly ran towards him and bombarded him with questions which he ignored. Calmly, he just put a finger to his lips and pointed for them to look up as Goldar grew to massive proportions. He had been energized by Zedd's Z-Staff, which had appeared only for a brief second on a building nearby so that it could charge him up, before it had vanished just as fast.

"Man, does today get any worse? Our Zords are out of commission!" Ziggy complained.

"Fortunately, mine aren't," Tommy smiled as he took out his Dragon Power Coin.

"Dragonzord!" he called. Then, he morphed. As soon as he was in the form of the Green Ranger, he took out the Dragon Dagger and got ready to play.

"Alpha, initiate Dragonzord release!" Tommy called using the communication link in his helmet. He then started playing as the shield was lowered to allow the Dragonzord through. Then, he continued playing as he leapt up to the shoulder of the Dragonzord so that they could fight Goldar together.

"You're a fool! You still insist on battling me?" Goldar roared.

"This isn't Angel Grove any more, Goldar. Things have changed a great deal since those days. You've only seen a small fraction of the powers which I now possess. Take this," Tommy growled as he set off the blasters in the fingers and chest of the Dragonzord by playing a different tune.

Goldar deflected the shots easily to one side and Tommy shook his head. "I should've known that I would have to use something more powerful. Alpha, release the Biozords!" Tommy commanded as he powered down. The Dragonzord returned to the Brachiozord after Tommy had jumped off it onto the roof of a nearby building. He quickly became the Black Dino Ranger and jumped into the cockpit of the Tyrannozord as the three main Biozords burst through the shields.

"Conner should be here doing this and not I. Thundersaurus Megazord activate," Tommy mused as he put his hands around the familiar globe. As soon as the system activated, Tommy was ready to battle Goldar with the more powerful arsenal of the Dino Rangers. As the Tyrannozord formed the Thundersaurus Megazord with both the Tricerazord and the Pterazord, Tommy decided that, because he had to get rid of Goldar as quickly as possible, he would need a little more help.

"Thundersaurus Megazord online," Tommy confirmed as the globe in front of him started to glow. On the viewing screen in front of him, he saw Goldar begin to approach the Thundersaurus Megazord menacingly with his sword drawn. Tommy's added touch to the rebuilt Zords, a program that could identify the weaknesses of any monster, had highlighted two spots where Goldar was particularly vulnerable in red on the viewing screen. Tommy decided as he backed away from Goldar that he would use the Stegozord, and of course his Brachiozord, to permanently get rid of him as he knew that he couldn't afford to prolong his demise as there were just too many evils in the world right now. He knew that they had to eliminate as many of the evils as quickly as they could if the Power Rangers wanted to stand any real chance of winning this war.

"Alpha, activate plan Final Justice. Use the button with the infinity sign on it," Tommy commanded.

"What does it do?" Alpha asked Tommy curiously as he pressed the button.

"Just watch and learn," Tommy smiled as the plan activated. Outside Corinth, the Brachiozord had returned to its normal form.

"Wow, look at that Zord! It's massive! I guess that is where all his weaponry is coming from," Scott exclaimed.

"Major Boom Time!" Gem and Gemma said in unison as they grew excited because they knew what was about to come next.

"What is he up to?" Ziggy wondered aloud as they watched.

The Stegozord had just come out of one side of the Brachiozord and it had quickly manoeuvred itself to the bottom of its massive black tail. As the Thundersaurus Megazord leapt onto the back of the Stegozord, no one had a clue about what Tommy was planning.

"This is the end, Goldar! You should never have returned," Tommy shouted defiantly.

"Do your worst," Goldar sneered. Tommy smiled.

"As you wish, Goldar. Surf's up!" Tommy replied with a shrug as the Brachiozord flipped its tail up suddenly and formed a ramp which, whilst riding on the top of the Stegozord, the Thundersaurus Megazord slid down. At the very last second, the Brachiozord flicked its head rapidly upwards which launched both the Thundersaurus Megazord and the Stegozord into the air. Tommy had carefully planned his attack so that the bright glare of the sun hid the Megazord as the Stegozord tore into Goldar and knocked him off his feet so that he couldn't defend against Tommy's finishing move.

"Dino Drill!" he exclaimed as he calmly punctured a massive hole through Goldar using the spinning tail of the Tyrannozord.

"No! How could you beat me?" Goldar howled in frustration as he realised that Tommy had beaten him.

"You didn't listen when I warned you, Goldar. I've changed a great deal since the last time we fought but I guess that you've learned that I'm not a force to mess with too late," Tommy replied with satisfaction as the Thundersaurus Megazord disbanded. Then, Tommy leapt out of the Tyrannozord before it returned with the others to the Brachiozord so that he could watch, as he powered down, Goldar's destruction.

"Nice work, Tommy. Goldar was a dangerous enemy so it is a relief that he has been taken out of the picture early," Zordon complimented. "Do you need me to come down to Corinth to explain everything to them?"

"No, Zordon, I'll be all right on my own. You just relax. Tell Alpha to check for any Power Rangers and to keep an eye out for further attacks," Tommy assured. "Tommy out."

At that moment, Tommy deactivated the communication link as he calmly put the Dragon Power Coin back in his pocket. Then, he became invisible as the RPM Power Rangers came to search for him

"He landed over here somewhere. I'm sure of it," Ziggy said as he looked around.

"Who was he anyway?" Flynn wondered aloud. Summer smiled.

"He's the one that we've got to thank for the antidote. I'm sure of it," Summer replied.

Smiling at this, Tommy reappeared behind her in an attempt to frighten her. This startled her so much that she cried out and Tommy instantly started chuckling. It was during these moments that he often wondered if he had ever really changed at all from that carefree teenager who had come to Angel Grove all those years ago.

"I told you that we would meet again, Summer Landsdown. It's just unfortunate that, because of the circumstances, we meet in person earlier than I expected," Tommy replied. "It's good to know that Dillon is well."

Ziggy was open-mouthed. "How did you do that?" he asked instantly.

Tommy smiled. "Just as you can teleport because of your morpher, I can become invisible because of mine," Tommy replied as he showed them the Black Dino Gem on his wrist.

"Who are you anyway?" Summer demanded.

"To most people, I'm somewhat of a legend. Of course, you haven't really had the whole "previous Power Rangers" speech because your mentor knows nothing at all about those who have served as Power Rangers before you," Tommy smiled cryptically. "I don't like to make a big fuss of it but I've served as Power Ranger for a very, very long time. My name is Tommy, Tommy Oliver, but you don't need to bother with the introductions as I know who all of you are anyway."

At that moment, several teams of the Corinth Defence Force appeared and quickly surrounded them with their weapons drawn. Tommy sighed.

"Sorry, I've got to go. We'll talk again in a few minutes," Tommy assured as he vanished again. His vanishing act was only to stop himself from being arrested before he could talk to the RPM Power Rangers. No one had any idea where he had gone so the Corinth Defence Force began to search the surrounding area as they knew that he couldn't have gone far.

Little did they realise, he was a lot closer to them than they thought as he was still standing in the exact same spot that he had been in seconds before. He was just invisible to their eyes.

_You've got to love being able to become invisible. _Tommy thought with a smile.

_Corinth City, RPM Command Centre, early afternoon_

Minutes later, the RPM Power Rangers had returned to their base. Dr K. was waiting for them. They were all surprised, though, to find that Tommy Oliver was standing against the garage door behind them as they entered as well. He smiled at them.

"Nice place," he complimented as he took the time to admire their Command Centre. It looked strangely suitable for them as it appeared to be a mixture of a garage and, of course, Dr K.'s lab. Tommy entered quickly as he glanced back to make sure that none of the security officers were around otherwise they would have somewhat of a problem. "It brings back many old memories when I see the Command Centres of other Power Ranger teams."

"I promised you that we would speak again. As much as I admire your Corinth Defence Force, I didn't want be separated from my morphers which is why I fled. If they ever fall into the wrong hands, the world will be in a great deal of danger," Tommy continued cheerfully as he shrugged. His expression suddenly became deadly serious. "You must forgive me for being secretive earlier but I had to make sure that what I'm about to tell you isn't heard by anyone else."

"How did he get here?" Dr K. asked her Power Rangers.

"He probably followed us whilst hidden by his powers of invisibility," Ziggy replied. Tommy smiled and nodded to confirm that Ziggy's guess was correct.

"I'll make it quick as I want to get out of here before the Corinth Defence Force catches up with me. Which reminds me..." Tommy said as he flicked on the communicator built into his Brachio Morpher.

"Alpha, be sure to put the Corinth City Shield back up too," I reminded him. "We don't want anything to be able to use the lapse in Corinth's security as a means to get into the city."

"Ai, Ai, Ai, Ai. Good point," Alpha exclaimed. Zordon cut in at that moment.

"Tommy, are you sure that you do not need me?" Zordon asked.

"No, I'll be all right, Zordon. I'm sure that they'll get to meet you soon enough. Besides, I want to keep the fact that you're alive from evil for now," Tommy replied. "Tommy out."

Everyone was looking at him curiously as they awaited an explanation.

"My mentor, Zordon, and his assistant Alpha 5. You'll probably get to meet them in person soon enough. I should tell you my story first, though, as it will help you to understand why I've had to come here," he replied. "My story goes back to Angel Grove High School during the days when I was a young teen. I was carefree, kind and slightly ignorant of my surroundings when I first moved there. Little did I realise back then that my five newest friends had become the first Power Rangers under our mentor, Zordon. I soon joined their ranks but not in the right way at first. I was turned evil against my will by an evil sorceress named Rita Repulsa, more commonly known as the Mystic Mother now, and forced into becoming the Green Ranger."

He paused for a moment. "I was completely evil whilst under her spell until my friends finally managed to snap me out of it. From that moment onwards, I served with them through the highs and lows as we struggled against evil. At first our opponents were Rita, her husband Zedd, and that creature Goldar but others soon took their place. My active service took many forms in many teams as many of my friends went go on to do other great things, and were replaced by others, whilst I continued defending the Earth from evil. It was sort of a personal penance because I wanted to make up for my mistakes, and for all the carnage that I had caused, as the Green Ranger. I served right up until the Turbo Rangers, when I was asked to retire by Dimitria of Inquiris, and I stayed in retirement for a while. Unfortunately, the Power had other ideas for me. When I became the Black Dino Ranger, six years ago, I thought that I was too old for this lifestyle but I lived up to my duties nonetheless as the Power had chosen me. After we defeated Mesogog, an evil mutant which terrorised a place I used to live in called Reefside, I did sort of retire again for a while."

He paused again to let them absorb his information before he continued. "During my retirement, I rebuilt the Biozords and collected together all of the information about the previous Power Rangers. I retrieved and repaired all my morphers as well. Just before the Venjix invasion, I planned to rebuild my other Zords but I had to do it during the crisis instead in the spare moments that I could find between keeping tabs on you and surviving in the harsh desert."

"You must understand that I was too late to save anyone I knew but I don't want to go into any details about it as thinking about it often tears me up inside," he warned.

Tommy fell quiet for a few seconds and a sad smile crossed his face as he remembered the happy smiling faces of his friends, family and allies over the years. Then, he looked up.

"I've only had contact with Billy, one of the Original Rangers, who has also managed to survive the invasion as well, but, as for the others, there are no signs of them anywhere. I don't know where they might be and I don't know if they are still alive or not. However, Zordon can help us find them and bring them back all together," Tommy replied. "Now, I suppose that I should tell you why I'm here since you now know my story. I'm here now because of the grave accident that you're responsible for. By destroying Venjix, Dillon unwittingly released a massive quantity of evil energy which has revived, or converted back from good, nearly all of the evils which previous Power Ranger teams had destroyed or imprisoned. Fortunately, there are some exceptions; Rita Repulsa, the Mystic Mother has remained good and Venjix has definitely been destroyed. At least, though, you brought Zordon back as well so I've got to thank you for that."

At that moment, voices reached their ears. The Corinth Defence Force had caught up with him.

"Persistent aren't they?" Tommy sighed. "Have you got anywhere I can hide?"

"But..." Summer began.

"Using my powers will drain me. If I use them too much, I'll end up collapsing so I've got to be careful," Tommy replied quickly.

"In here," Dr K. snapped as she dragged him into her secret office and shut the door behind him.

"Alpha 5, emergency teleport," Tommy whispered through his communication link to the Brachiozord. He didn't want to hang around and risk being caught even though he knew that they were unlikely to find him so he had decided to play safe by fleeing.

Minutes later, he vanished in a flash of coloured light. The Corinth Defence Force were thorough in their search of the Command Centre and searched everywhere for him but Tommy was long gone. However, by reviewing the security footage, they knew that he had been there.

Hence, the Corinth Defence Force quickly detained all the RPM Power Rangers, Tenaya 15 and Dr K. since they suspected that they had helped him escape. Despite protests of their innocence, they were all dragged away to face Colonel Truman.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early afternoon_

Tommy watched the viewing screen as the Corinth Defence Force escorted the RPM Power Rangers away and sighed as he changed the view to what was outside. The Corinth Defence Force had swarmed around the Brachiozord as soon as it had appeared since they didn't know what it was or who was in control of it.

"Man, I hope that they'll be all right," Tommy said as he began to count the security officers who now surrounded the Brachiozord. He was quickly impressed by their sheer numbers as there was so many of them that he soon lost count.

"There's so many of them that I'm glad that I've got invisibility powers right now," Tommy muttered. "I wouldn't..."

"Ai, Ai, Ai. I've found a Ranger!" Alpha exclaimed triumphantly. Instantly, Tommy snapped out of his brooding at this. "There's only one, though. I've searched everywhere else in the city but there is not any other residual traces of the Universal Morphing Grid."

"Location," Zordon demanded immediately.

"A place known as the Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour," Alpha replied as he brought up the map of Corinth City.

"Jungle Karma... RJ?" Tommy said finally after he carefully considered who they could've found. He knew that the Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour was linked to Power Rangers as the owner, RJ, before the Venjix invasion, had been a Power Ranger himself. Tommy checked the residual trace against his files and successfully matched it to RJ's signal. It was, fortunately, still active which meant that RJ still had his Ranger form.

"RJ's easy going, very clever and a Pai Zhua master," Tommy informed them as he remembered what many of RJ's customers had told Tommy about him the one time that he had visited Ocean Bluff. "He reminds me of Zack quite a great deal for these reasons. Anyway, It's best that I go to talk to him so just call if you need me."

Tommy then set up teleport controls to take him to a side street near the restaurant. As Alpha sent him away, he sighed. Tommy couldn't predict how RJ would react to him but he hoped that RJ reacted well as he was in desperate need of allies in Corinth right now.

_Corinth City, Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour and its surrounding area, mid-afternoon _

Tommy arrived in a disused, dark and damp side street several streets away from the restaurant. He had to use his invisibility powers to bypass any small obstacles in the streets such as the lone security officer probably searching for him as she advanced through the streets but eventually he managed to make it to the restaurant.

The outside of the restaurant was bright and inviting with fresh plants, which had a distinctly exotic smell, surrounding the door. It was quiet inside but it was obviously extremely popular if the slightly worn seats and the massive till which no one, unless they made a great deal of money, would ever have on their counter were anything to go by. The aroma coming from the pizzas which were cooking away in the kitchen was mouthwatering and Tommy found that he was unsurprisingly hungry. The exotic flora in the restaurant reminded him a great deal of a jungle which made him think instantly of Ninjor. He sat down at a table by the window and became visible again.

"May I help you friend?" a friendly voice asked. Tommy looked up from where he had sat to see RJ as he came through from the kitchen dressed in a chef's outfit. He had a sad smile on his face.

"I might have a pizza," Tommy replied calmly with a warm smile. RJ smiled.

"One pizza, on the house, coming up. Do you mind if I share it with you?" he asked.

Tommy smiled. "Not at all as one large pizza is far too much for me to eat by myself."

RJ went into the kitchen and brought out a large pepperoni pizza. It had been almost two years since he had last had a decent pizza but RJ, as Tommy had suspected, was a rather good chef so this one was much better than the last one he had eaten. As he munched away on a slice, he found that it was one of the best pizzas he had ever eaten.

"What troubles you?" Tommy asked. He had sensed RJ's saddened mood almost as soon as RJ had sat down. He was only fiddled with his slice of pizza, and wasn't really eating it, which was a sure sign that something was worrying him.

"My friends and I nearly all got to Corinth but, in the end, only I made it," RJ confessed sadly as he looked down at the table. "As is often the case when I'm in these moods, I wish that I could've done something to help them."

RJ shivered at that moment as that haunting memory came back to him.

"_Guys, we're almost there but those Grinders are closing in on us," Casey exclaimed as they dodged a blast from __another Grinder on a motorcycle. "We've got to keep moving."_

_They kept running and running for what seemed forever even though Corinth City was just on the horizon. Everything was going well until they had to descend down one side of a massive dune. Then, everything went horribly wrong as a shot from a Grinder hit Lily in the back and she fell forward. Theo cried out to her and Casey had turned to her in shock._

"_Get up, we can't stop," RJ commanded. Lily shook her head as she tried. She fell back onto the sand._

"_I can't. My ankle! It's twisted! Go on without me!" she exclaimed._

"_I won't leave you," Theo vowed as the Grinders grew closer to them._

"_Theo, you carry Lily, I'll hold off the Grinders," Casey decided. Before anyone could stop him, Casey went through the poses and morphed into the Red Jungle Fury Ranger. He then set off to hold off the Grinders. Theo and Lily, however, knew that his attempt to buy them time was hopeless as the Grinders grew ever closer._

"_Go on, RJ. Go," they urged. "We'll be right behind you."_

_RJ knew fine well that they were lying to them but, of course, he had left them at that moment. It had hurt him so much to go but, as much as he wanted to stay, the Wolf spirit inside him had forced him to go on. He had reached Corinth City but they hadn't followed behind him like they had promised they would. He knew that they had been captured in his heart but, right up until the moment the Corinth Defence Force lowered the gates, he had hoped they would make it. The regret that he didn't stay with them had hit him at that moment and he'd collapsed. Of course, he had woken sometime later in the hospital but ever since then he had blamed himself for the fact he couldn't save them._

He closed his eyes and sighed. "The past is like a painful thorn in your side sometimes. You make regrettable decisions and you've got to live with the consequences. For me, the worst part of being a Power Ranger is the far reaching consequences of any mistakes that you make."

Tommy nodded as he knew that RJ was probably reliving that day all over again in his mind right now. That day two years ago was one of those days that, no matter how hard you tried, you could never forget about. It was just too memorable.

"I lost friends, family and allies too numerous to count during the Venjix invasion. I often wonder, why? Why me? Why did I escape? Why didn't my friends escape as well?" Tommy replied quietly.

"Me too," RJ added as he finally began to eat his slice of pizza. "Do you know, you're really good at hiding from the Corinth Defence Force after you."

Tommy smiled. RJ really was as clever as Tommy had come to believe over the last few moments if he could spot that he was the fugitive that was trying to escape from the Corinth Defence Force.

"I've got a few advantages," Tommy admitted. "I should've guessed that you would recognise me, RJ."

"More than that, friend, I've been expecting you, Tommy Oliver. As a Pai Zhua Master, I can tell when the balance of power is shifting from good to evil. I knew that you would be the one who would bring everyone back together again," RJ sighed as he revealed the Wolf Morpher around his wrist, hidden underneath his chef's uniform, and looked at Tommy.

"What about you?" he asked.

"Five," Tommy replied with a smile as RJ looked slightly surprised about this fact. "I've served as a Power Ranger for a very long time. I was the first Evil Ranger but I'm glad that part of my past is behind me. My mentor, the creator of Power Rangers, Zordon, decided to restore all of my powers this morning so I've got a great advantage in this upcoming war."

"Fate deals a powerful hand to you, friend," RJ said as he sighed again.

"I know. Will you return with me, RJ? Together, we can get back all our friends," Tommy said quietly as he extended a hand to him. RJ nodded.

"Yes, Tommy Oliver, I'll return with you," RJ said as he took it. "My fate lies with yours. The spirits tell me this much."

Tommy nodded. "I thought as much. Something tells me that you and I are going to be doing quite a lot of great things together as friends."

"Friends," RJ agreed. "And, hopefully, I'll be the first of many new ones."

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, mid-afternoon, at that exact moment_

The spacecraft sent blackened sand in all directions as it crashed into the sand. Smoke billowed from the craft and, for a few seconds, everything was quiet.

Then, without any warning, the airlock was suddenly blasted open and, whilst coughing and spluttering, a man emerged who had long thought that he would never come back to his home planet again. He looked at his surroundings with great sorrow as he brushed off the sand from his blue clothing.

His beautiful wife, Cestria, in human form because of one of his inventions which she was wearing around her neck known as the Crystal Adaptor, soon followed him out of the spacecraft. She had beautiful long black hair and brilliant blue eyes which no one could forget. She was, of course, an alien from Aquitar but there was no way that anyone would automatically know that she anything more than human as she certainly looked like one.

"We're obviously far from Corinth, Cestria, so I must have gotten the coordinates wrong. Oh well, I guess we had better get the supplies and get moving as my communicator has a lock on Tommy's location anyway so we'll eventually get to Corinth City either way," Billy sighed.

Cestria nodded. "Next time, make sure that you bring along an extra spacecraft in case something like this happens."

Billy nodded. "Whatever you say, dear."

If experience had taught Billy anything, it had taught him that it was best not to argue with the women or with the "Reds" as he had affectionately termed any Red Ranger. Both groups of people were strong minded, stubborn and no one dared to cross them without facing several painful consequences. Besides, all he wanted to do now was find Tommy so that he could find out exactly what had caused the accident. He had alerted all the necessary Power Rangers before he had left Aquitar and had also brought with him a Time Pulse which could call known future Rangers back to aid them. The only problem was that he just couldn't get it to work correctly. Billy knew that it was something that he was going to have to work on but the Time Pulse wasn't a priority for him now.

Right now, all that mattered was getting to Tommy and to Corinth. The Time Pulse would have to wait.


	4. Chapter 3: Some Things Are Never Easy

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 3: Some Things Are Never Easy

_Corinth City, Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour and its surrounding area, mid-afternoon_

RJ and Tommy had long finished their pizza and, now, they were talking about what was to come. Tommy had just confessed just how bad the problem was and RJ was quiet as he considered the implications of Tommy's words. It seemed like they had endless enemies now because there were so many evils loose in the world and both of them knew that, if many of the evils banded together to form a United Alliance of Evil, at the present moment no one would be able to effectively stand in their way.

"Things as they stand don't look good for us then," RJ finally said to break the silence between them. "I'm not worried about the odds, though. When the odds are stacked against us, things are usually rather... interesting."

Tommy nodded in agreement. "Fortunately, many of the evils hate each other so much that they're likely to stay divided for quite a while. It's when they realise that they are not going to win unless they band together that we'll begin to have major problems. If we don't have sufficient forces by that time, we'll likely be destroyed in the last battle. For the universe's sake, though, we've got to be ready for that day."

RJ nodded. "Friend, that's life for you. Anything we do is never going to be straightforward. Anything that appears too easy is usually a path to destruction."

"Especially if you're a Power Ranger," Tommy agreed. "The reward for us is when we see the innocents that we protect as they live out their normal happy lives whilst we're living our dangerous existence on the borderline between life and death on a daily basis."

RJ smiled. "It took a while for my friends to realise that one."

"It took my students a while as well," Tommy chuckled. "My Red Ranger, Conner McKnight, had to save a child from a monster before he actually realised that, even though we make many great personal sacrifices, the world is a better place for everyone because we're Power Rangers as we bring good to the world."

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-afternoon_

Inside the Command Centre, as the lights changed from yellow to red again, Zordon looked up from where he sat.

"Alpha, report!" Zordon commanded as he sat up straight. Alpha entered several commands into the system to find out about what was going on before he turned to Zordon.

"Ai, Ai, Ai, Z-Putties! Things are about to get dangerous, Zordon, as Lord Zedd never sent down Z-Putties without sending another more dangerous monster afterwards," Alpha exclaimed as he brought live images of the Z-Putties onto the screen. Innocent people were fleeing in all directions from the clay drones as they caused carnage in the streets of Corinth. Zordon sighed.

"Alpha, warn Tommy and tell him to take out the Z-Putties before they cause too much damage. Keep scanning for evil signatures, though, as you are right to say that another more powerful monster should appear soon enough," Zordon commanded as he relaxed slightly in the main Command Chair.

Alpha nodded as he began implementing Zordon's instructions. "Right away, Zordon."

_Alpha, my ever loyal friend, when this is all over I will make sure that I reward you sufficiently for your service. I would never be able find anyone better to stand at my side during these battles anywhere else in the universe. You have been in my service for a long time, even though there were great risks, and I have never once rewarded you for it but I will this time. I have always thought that you were less like a robot than you believe yourself to be but more human... _Zordon thought as he closed his eyes. _And when Tommy finds out just how similar we are..._

Zordon snapped out of his thoughts as Alpha managed to get through to Tommy.

"Tommy, Tommy, do you read me?" Alpha called.

"Yes, Alpha, I read you," was Tommy's reply. "What's wrong?"

"Z-Putties have appeared throughout Corinth. As the RPM Power Rangers are not available, it falls to you to deal with them before they cause too much carnage!" Alpha replied.

"We will continue to monitor the situation Tommy as we think that Zedd must be up to something else as well. It is only a matter of time before we find out what else he has sent to cause destruction in Corinth," Zordon assured.

"Ok, we'll deal with the Z-Putties. Call me when you find Zedd's real monster, Tommy out," Tommy replied as he shut down the communication link.

Alpha continued to scan for other evil energies as Zordon sighed.

"Lord Zedd is up to something," he said quietly to himself. "And I only hope that we find out what it is before it is too late to stop him."

_Corinth City, Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour and its surrounding area, mid-afternoon_

"So what exactly are we going to fight again?" RJ asked as he cast aside his chef's uniform to reveal the purple uniform of a Pai Zhua master hidden underneath.

"Z-Putties. They're clay drones that Lord Zedd, a powerful villain, created long ago. He's very ugly and very dangerous but most of the other villains are much, much worse," Tommy replied grimly. "Z-Putties are usually nothing more than a distraction so Zedd's obviously planning something else as well. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready. Are you?" RJ asked as he looked at Tommy with a serious expression.

"I'm always ready to defend the world from evil," he replied with a smile.

RJ nodded. He went through the stances as he activated his morpher and called out, "Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!". He then morphed into the Wolf Ranger. "Wolf Ranger!" he called as he pronounced his title before he quickly stepped out of the way to watch Tommy morph.

Tommy then followed suit. This time, he had decided to use the Zeonizer first because RJ would need a long range weapon to take out the explosive Z-Putties and the Laser Pistol that the Zeo powers could call forth would be perfect. At the same time, Tommy could then morph into another of his forms and use another of his long range weapons instead.

"It's Morphin' Time!" Tommy said as he connected the two halves of the Zeonizer together. "Zeo Ranger V, Red!"

Then, he morphed. Once he had morphed, Tommy summoned the Laser Pistol and tossed it to RJ.

"Z-Putties cause an explosion when they're destroyed so it's best to fight them at long range. You can use my Laser Pistol to take them out without putting yourself at risk," Tommy warned as he powered down. RJ nodded.

"What about you? What are you going to do?" RJ asked.

"I'm going to use another of my morphers. If things get a little messy, then I'll have an additional advantage in that form that I don't have in the others," Tommy replied as he pulled out the key to his Brachio Morpher as it appeared on his wrist.

"Dino Thunder, power up! Ha!" he called as he turned the key and released the form of the Black Dino Ranger. He morphed and then he whipped out the Brachio Staff.

"Let's start annihilating these Z-Putties. We'll want to get rid of them before Zedd sends anything else down here as they'll only get in the way when he does," Tommy said. RJ nodded in reply and, together, they rushed outside after RJ had closed up his restaurant. It took them only seconds to find and confront the first group of Z-Putties.

Before the Z-Putties could strike, RJ and Tommy struck first using laser fire and a strike of flames from the Brachio Staff. Just before they exploded, Tommy just managed to change the Brachio Staff to a wind strike and used his own attack to push himself and RJ back several metres from the Z-Putties as their first attack had hit the Z on their chests. The massive explosion that the Z-Putties caused as they were destroyed sent chunks of the road flying in many directions but, fortunately, no one was hurt because all innocent bystanders had long since fled from the clay drones.

The explosion also left a massive crater and several nearby windows had been smashed by its force. Many of the nearby walls were charred because of the flames whilst other walls had chunks missing from them because the debris from the road had damaged them.

"Wow, those Z-Putties were really explosive," RJ said as he looked around and surveyed the damage, "Who would have thought that clay could cause so much damage?"

"They never used to be this explosive. However, I guessed that Lord Zedd could have improved them significantly so I took the precaution of getting us out of the way just in case he did. I'm glad that I did now," Tommy replied as he activated his communicator on the Brachio Morpher.

"Alpha, how many more groups of Z-Putties are roaming Corinth City?" Tommy asked through his communication link as RJ continued to survey the damage.

"There are many more groups, Tommy. The Z-Putties seem to be spread out across the city at the furthest possible locations from each other. It's as if Lord Zedd is trying to test our capabilities and is waiting for the right moment to strike," Alpha replied.

"Tommy, this sounds like a trap to me," Zordon warned. "Zedd appears to be attempting to exhaust you both before whatever else he has sent strikes."

"I know," Tommy replied. "Alpha, send me my Dino ATV. It'll be able to carry both RJ and I directly to the Z-Putties. We're not going to waste our strength needlessly by running all over the city to try to put a stop to Zedd's Z-Putties when we can just drive straight to their locations."

"Right away, Tommy. The Dino ATV has been sent through teleportation system directly to your exact coordinates," Alpha replied. "Good luck."

Seconds later, the Dino ATV appeared at their side just as Alpha shut down the communication link. Tommy smiled as he saw that RJ was instantly impressed by his ride.

"Sweet ride. Can I drive?" RJ asked.

Tommy smiled. "Of course. Just don't crash as I don't want have to rebuild it again."

RJ leapt onto the front end of the seat and Tommy followed behind him. Seconds later, after RJ had revved up the engine a few times to check that the ATV was still working after all those years of being abandoned in the Dino Thunder Command Centre, they sped off in pursuit of Z-Putties across Corinth City.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, mid-afternoon_

Billy and Cestria had gathered their supplies and had begun their long trek across the wasteland. As they walked through the sand, Cestria was saddened by just how desolate the land was. She had heard Billy's tales of his home planet back on Aquitar, of the great beauty of its landscape and of its diverse wildlife, but it was now only a mere shadow of what it must have once been.

She could tell this fact upset Billy because he hadn't said very much at all since they had arrived. He was busying himself making useless modifications to his communicator as they walked so that he could distract himself from his heartbreak at seeing the land in this state. The only time that he had said anything was when, every so often, he stopped suddenly to slightly readjust their bearing so that they were proceeding almost in a straight line directly to Corinth.

All was quiet as they walked, as there wasn't even any birdsong, and a sinister feeling hung in the air. However, as they entered an area with numerous sand dunes, Cestria reached for the laser pistol at her waist when she heard the sound of screeching tyres rapidly approaching them.

"Billy," she hissed. "We've got company!"

Billy looked up sharply when he too heard the tyres and instantly pulled out his laser pistol as well.

"It's got to be the Grinders. Get ready!" Billy replied as he held the laser pistol ready. Both he and Cestria quickly stood back to back as they prepared themselves for the imminent battle.

Seconds later, Grinders burst into view from over the nearest sand dune on motorbikes. Billy shot them off the bikes skilfully whilst Cestria managed to stop two of the bikes from crashing into the dunes. The bikes from the other Grinders, however, soon caused a large fireball as they crashed into the dunes before they could be stopped. The fireball would only serve to attract further attention to them so they knew that they would have to move on before more Grinders came to investigate what had happened. Billy checked that all the Grinders had definitely been destroyed before he returned to her side.

"We've got to get out of here as the Grinders will soon be swarming all over the dunes because they will have seen that fireball. If we don't get out of here before they show up, we'll likely end up being captured," Billy warned as he got on one of the bikes. Cestria nodded in reply as she got onto the other. They both revved the bikes to check that they were still working before they set off at full speed, kicking up a dust cloud which would hide them from the Grinders, as they fled from the battlefield.

_Corinth City, late afternoon_

"Just how many more groups are there?" RJ asked as they destroyed yet another group of Z-Putties. Tommy shrugged as his communicator beeped.

"Just another half dozen groups to go, Tommy," Alpha replied. His reply answered the question which RJ had just asked. "There's still no sign of what Zedd is really up to but I'm sure that we'll find out enough."

"Zordon, this is draining our Ranger powers as well," Tommy warned. "Perhaps this is what Zedd plans to do. He must want to weaken us before he sends his monster to finish us off."

"That does sound like something Zedd would plan," Zordon conceded. "You have got to hang in there, though, Tommy, RJ, as you are both almost done."

RJ groaned. "Well, we had better continue destroying the Z-Putties then as I'll only be able to get some rest once we destroy Zedd's real monster."

"Whatever Zedd sends down to face us will be much more dangerous than these Z-Putties, RJ," Tommy warned as he shut down the communication link. "The monster that Zedd is likely planning to send down here will be created by Finster, a shy monster that makes even more monsters in his workshop, which will make quite powerful. Then, it'll probably get a power boost from Zedd's Z-Staff as well and, depending on the level of this power boost, it might just be powerful enough to be able to easily destroy us."

RJ fell silent at that moment and Tommy sighed.

Then, after giving RJ a moment to consider his words, they got back onto the Dino ATV and set off in pursuit of the remaining groups of Z-Putties across Corinth.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, late afternoon, at that exact moment_

Billy and Cestria had cleared the sand dunes and drove onwards through the desert. They were getting closer and closer to Corinth with every minute that had passed so Billy felt that they were making good progress. The area which they were now going through looked to have been a forest long ago but now all the trees had been reduced to dead, charred and rotten wood surrounded by various moulds of different colours. The stench coming from the moulds was almost unbearable but Billy and Cestria bravely managed to ignore it as they continued on through the dead forest.

As they grew closer to the end of the dead forest, Billy suddenly heard human shouts and Grinders.

"Did you hear that?" Cestria asked as he turned to her. He nodded.

"Yes. Someone needs our help," Billy said as he listened again to the shouts. Suddenly, there was a loud bang and sand was thrown high up into the air nearby which gave them an idea of what was happening. The Grinders were pursuing escaped prisoners and, instead of trying to recapture them, they were trying to destroy them. Billy, without stopping to consider what he was getting himself into, rushed to aid the escapees as his Power Ranger instincts took over. When he arrived, Billy saw two men, who were carrying a badly injured woman between them, being pursued by almost half a dozen Grinders with unusually large laser cannons. Billy sighed. It wasn't going to be easy to take these Grinders out. He looked to Cestria, who had followed after him, and she nodded in agreement as she appeared to know what he was thinking about at that moment in time.

"We've got to help them, Billy," she said quietly.

He nodded. "I know, dear. As soon as the Grinders spot us, they'll start firing at us so try to take them out as quickly as possible."

They took up a strategic position at the top of a nearby dune before they aimed at the two closest Grinders to the men and took them out. As Billy had predicted, the Grinders stopped pursuing the men and chose to pursue Billy and Cestria instead. In the midst of steering their bikes around the dunes, Billy and Cestria managed to return fire at the other four Grinders. The Grinders fired back, which only made taking them out even more difficult, so for a while it was a stalemate between both sides.

Eventually, Billy managed to take all four Grinders out in a way that no one would have thought possible. He leapt from his bike high into the air and, whilst in the middle of a flip, he took out three of the four remaining Grinders. The fourth and final Grinder, however, was taken out by Billy in a different way as he descended back to Earth. He just managed to land behind it on its bike. Then, he easily threw it off onto the sand and Cestria finished it before it could get back up.

Billy turned off the bike's engine and just managed not to crash into a dune. Everyone watched the other three bikes crash into nearby trees and explode which sent dust and debris everywhere so they were forced to shield their eyes to prevent themselves from being injured. Once the debris had settled, Billy and Cestria turned their attention to the men carrying the injured woman to see if they could help her in any way.

"Are you all right?" Billy asked as he dismounted and approached them calmly.

"We're all right but my friend isn't," one of them replied. He seemed younger than he actually was to Billy but his face was somehow familiar. As far as Billy could tell, he couldn't be any more than twenty-two or three years old. He had black hair, heavily tanned skin and dirty clothing that had once, although it didn't look like it now, been snowy white.

Cestria took the woman from them both as she dismounted from her bike. She then examined her quickly.

"She's losing a great deal of blood and is very heavily dehydrated. Billy, can you pass me some water?" Cestria said with great concern.

Billy nodded as he got out several of his water skins. Cestria poured the first one down the woman's throat and made sure that she swallowed every last drop. The second water skin was shared between Billy and the other men whilst Cestria took the third skin and drank it all by herself.

As an Aquitian, she would normally require pure water to survive but the Crystal Adaptor changed her biological make-up to be that of a human. It meant that she had to keep herself alive only by eating and drinking like a human did. Billy had foreseen that the desert wasteland would have very little pure water available so he'd created the Crystal Adaptor for her so that she could survive during any time she spent on Earth.

"My name is Anton Mercer. This is my son, Trent and, his girlfriend, Kira Ford," Anton said in introduction as he took a deep breath. He extended his hand and Billy smiled.

"Call me Billy although my real name is William," Billy replied as he took it. He'd heard their names before as Tommy had once told him about them but, for the life of him, Billy couldn't quite remember what had been said in their conversation. "This is my wife, Cestria."

"Thank you for rescuing us. For a moment, we thought that we were almost certainly done for," Trent replied.

"Don't mention it. After all, I couldn't just leave you there at the mercy of the Grinders," Billy replied with a smile.

Cestria looked up from where she tending to Kira's wound with a look of concerned upon her face. "Billy we'll need to get her medical attention otherwise she won't survive much long because she's so badly injured. Pass me some bandages."

Billy nodded and passed Cestria the bandages. Then, Cestria calmly bound up Kira's wound before she lifted her onto the bike.

"We'll need to get her to Corinth City as fast as possible," Billy agreed.

"Wait, you know where Corinth City is?" Trent asked.

"Of course. I was summoned there by a friend. Perhaps you have heard of him, Dr. Oliver?" Billy replied as he decided that he would try to use their reaction to jog his memory.

"He's alive?" Trent exclaimed excitedly. "We thought that he must have been killed in the Venjix invasion because no one knew about what had happened to him."

"Tommy always was resourceful," Anton muttered.

"As well as being strong-minded, stubborn, kind, loyal, brave and almost certainly the best Power Ranger to ever have held the mantle," Billy added as he finally remembered what had been said during the conversation in which he'd heard their names before. Trent Fernandez, the White Dino Ranger, Kira Ford, the Yellow Dino Ranger and Anton Mercer, once Mesogog but, of course, not by choice. Mesogog: the villainous mutant dinosaur who had wanted to begin a new dinosaur age by utilising the Dino Gems but had failed disastrously because of his destruction at the hands of the Dino Power Rangers. Billy knew that he would likely be roaming the world causing destruction at that moment in time which caused him to shiver.

Trent gasped. "But he..."

"Never mentioned me?" Billy smiled as he looked through his pack for the parts of the jet glider he had constructed on Aquitar to allow him to explore the beautifully rich but rough terrain of the planet. He began to take out the parts as he continued with a shrug. "Of course he would never have mentioned me as our friendship really only picked up again after all of you lost your powers and went separate ways. Tommy tried the whole normal life thing for a few weeks but being only a science teacher didn't really work for him. It isn't for me to say what he did with his spare time before the Venjix invasion, he can tell you that himself, but I know that he had to go underground when Venjix invaded. He didn't like the idea at all, believe me when I say this because I was the last person he talked to before he vanished off the face of the Earth, but he still did it as he knew what the consequences would be if he didn't disappear. It tore him apart to abandon everything and everyone he cared about but he had little choice because he is the guardian of a legacy that is the Power Rangers and he had to stay hidden to keep it from Venjix's hands."

Billy paused for a moment. "He stayed underground for almost two years but it wasn't until earlier this morning that he emerged again. He contacted me to warn me that something had gone very wrong and to tell me that I had to come to Corinth. He didn't have to tell me about what had happened, of course, because I too was keeping an eye on the war against Venjix. The latest batch of Power Rangers have unwittingly put the universe in a dangerous position somehow because they've revived so many evils. I'm going to Corinth as he'll probably need my help to set things right. He'll also probably need you, and Kira, Trent."

"That would explain why Zeltrax appeared!" Trent burst out.

"He's back too?" Billy asked as he began to assemble the jet glider. Anton nodded in reply. Billy had heard tales of Zeltrax, aka Terrence "Smitty" Smith, and they had all been rather negative. Tommy had portrayed him as dangerous and powerful foe which he pitied because of what had happened to make him so revenge-driven. Of course, Zeltrax was likely to still be seeking revenge against Tommy hence they needed to get to Corinth as soon as possible so that Billy could warn him that he had returned.

Trent sighed as a pained expression appeared on his face. "Zeltrax just appeared out of nowhere in the camp we were being held at. He started trashing the place, destroying anyone or thing that got in his way, just for the fun of it. He just took the Grinders who tried to stop him out as he concentrated on his destruction. Innocent people fled in all directions from him and we saw the confusion that this had created as our chance to escape the camp. Together, we attempted to flee but Kira was injured by Grinders as we escaped and has remained unconscious ever since. She threw herself in front of a blast meant for me as she knew that it would be the only way to save me from being killed. It's all my fault."

Billy shook his head. "It was her choice. Don't beat yourself up over it."

"That's exactly what I've been telling him as we were running. Son, Kira chose to protect you and you couldn't have done anything to stop her," Anton exclaimed in frustration.

Trent nodded. "You never told us how you know Dr O., Billy," he said as he attempted to distract himself from thinking about Kira.

"That's a story for later," Billy replied cryptically as he had finished building the jet glider. "We had better get out of here because it's only a matter of time before even more Grinders show up here. You can both can take my bike, Cestria will take Kira and I'll use my jet glider. I'll tell you the full story later but, if you think about it, you'll probably find that Tommy has already told you the full tale at some point. Just give me a shout if you need me."

At that moment, Billy secured the straps which held him in the jet glider as tightly as he possibly could. Then he activated the controls and launched the jet glider into the air. He had to circle a few times to pick up some height before he was high enough above the ground to be able to glide over the desert. By that time, everyone had mounted their bike and they followed him as he used his communicator signal to guide them to Corinth City.

_Corinth City, Shield Control Centre, late afternoon_

"Hey, Hey, get off me!" Scott exclaimed as the RPM Power Rangers were dragged by the soldiers into the Shield Control Centre. Only Dr K. got to walk in with some semblance of decency as everyone else was thrown in because they were struggling with the security officers.

Scott's father, Colonel Mason Truman, sat at his desk and Scott knew that, as he was sitting there with an angry silent glare, he was going to demand answers from them. Whether he was going to be given them or not, was entirely up to Dr K. and it was very likely that she would refuse to tell him anything because of the way he had treated them.

"Dr K., Rangers... I..." the Colonel began as he stood up. The RPM Power Rangers got back onto their feet. Dillon was missing because of the fact he was still unconscious and the security officers didn't want to risk moving him.

"Before you start, Colonel, I would like you to know that we know no more than you do at this point and that we totally object to being treated this way," Dr K. interrupted.

"Dr K., you..." he tried to continue.

"Furthermore, if you had actually asked us about this whole affair politely, and, if we had known something, then we would have honestly told you everything we know. Now, because you have done this, even if we do know something about that mysterious Power Ranger and even if we did know something about the advanced weaponry that is parked outside the city shields, which we don't, we won't be telling you a thing," Dr K. interrupted again.

"But Dr K. I..." Colonel Truman tried again.

"I am not finished Colonel!" she snapped as she interrupted him yet again. "Finally, we have got to get back to caring for Dillon. So, if you do not mind, let's get this over with quickly so that we can go."

"Go K.!" Gem and Gemma cheered. However, they both fell hastily silent when Scott glared at them and gestured for them to be quiet.

Colonel Truman stood up. "I know that you all know something, K.. You were seen talking with that mysterious Power Ranger after he destroyed that monster but before he vanished into thin air. The security footage also shows him talking to you in the Command Centre as well," he warned.

"You should know that he has a friend with him right now and that they are both doing your job of keeping Corinth safe from creatures that have just as suddenly appeared all over the place. So tell me, what exactly did he tell you?" he demanded.

"He told us nothing, sir," Flynn replied. The other Power Rangers quickly nodded their heads in agreement but Gem and Gemma had an unconvincing smile on their faces as they made a zero with their fingers. Colonel Truman shook his head.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with that communication from an unknown source would it?" he demanded.

"No sir," Scott said a little too quickly as Colonel Truman slammed his fist on the table.

"This is your final chance. I want someone to tell me what was said now!" he roared.

"I told you, we know no more than you do!" Dr K. replied angrily as everyone else flinched. "Now, if you will excuse us, we have a Ranger down who we need to attend to."

Dr K. turned to storm out of the Shield Control Centre but was stopped at the door by several of the security officers.

"I'm sorry that I have to do this, Dr K., Rangers, but, until one of you decides to talk, I am placing all of you under arrest. Take them away," Colonel Truman ordered grimly as he nodded to the security officers. Ignoring the protests of the Power Rangers, the security officers obeyed their leader's commands. This left Colonel Truman, and the staff in the Shield Control Centre, alone with their thoughts. He sat back down and pondered the events of today so far. This new development, additional Power Rangers popping up out of nowhere, worried him a great deal. He knew that the RPM Power Rangers were lying through their teeth to him but what he just couldn't understand was why they would protect someone that they didn't even know. He couldn't understand why the monsters were still attacking Corinth either. Venjix was dead so their struggles were meant to be over. Why, though, did it feel like their struggles were only just beginning?

_Corinth City, late afternoon, at that very moment_

RJ destroyed yet another group of Z-Putties. He turned to Tommy as they exploded.

"How many more groups of Z-Putties are there?" he exclaimed. "I'm starting to get tired of this."

"So am I," Tommy replied as he breathed heavily. "Fortunately, there's only one more group but they're unfortunately at the other side of town. As soon as we finish with the Z-Putties, Zedd will send down the real monster to face us."

RJ nodded. "Then the real fight begins."

"We had better get over to the other side of town. If we allow the Z-Putties to continue their destruction, we'll be in a great deal more trouble with the authorities when they catch up with us," Tommy replied after he had taken a moment to catch his breath. RJ nodded.

"Let's hope that the authorities don't catch up with us until then. The Z-Putties have already caused massive amounts of damage as it is," he grimaced as they mounted the Dino ATV. Seconds later, they were off in pursuit of the last group of Z-Putties.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, late afternoon_

They had been riding for a while now and had now cleared several miles of sand. Above them, Billy was he was keeping an eye out for anything that they would need to avoid from the sky. So far, he hadn't seen anything of interest. There had only been sand, sand and more sand as far as his eyes could see.

"Anything?" Cestria called up to him.

"No!" Billy shouted back in reply. "Nothing!"

He suddenly looked down as he heard Cestria's bike engine shudder.

"You're running low on fuel!" he warned.

"So am I," Trent added.

"This isn't good," Cestria muttered. "Kira doesn't have weeks to get medical attention. She'll be lucky if she survives the next few days at the most."

Billy nodded. "I know."

Suddenly, he spotted something in the distance being guarded by several Grinders. As he couldn't see it very well, he used the built in binoculars to make it clearer. It was an empty guarded prisoner truck.

_An empty prisoner truck. That's good as it's something that we can use. It'll have considerably more fuel in it than the bikes so it would probably be able to take us all the way to Corinth. _Billy thought.

Without explaining what he planned to do, Billy used the jets built into the glider to go on ahead without them.

"Billy!" Cestria exclaimed.

He didn't reply as he continued onwards. As soon as the Grinders guarding the prisoner truck saw him, they started firing at him. He fired back as he dodged their shots and he managed to take out two of the Grinders within seconds. Two of the other Grinders managed to shoot him down, though. Billy, by utilising his skills as a Power Ranger, leapt out of the jet glider before it crashed into the sand and burst into a fireball. Then, by using his martial arts skills which had been taught to him by both Jason and Tommy, he took out the remaining Grinders with ease by striking them once on the chest. He was lucky that he managed to block all of their counter blows as he would have likely been seriously injured otherwise.

"Billy!" Cestria exclaimed as the bikes cleared the nearest dune. Upon seeing the explosion, she had feared the worst and had instantly sped up to get to him. Both bikes skidded to a halt as he turned to them.

"I'm fine," he said simply. "What can I say, other than that some things can never be forgotten?"

Trent saw the carnage that Billy had caused during his attempt to destroy the Grinders and suddenly everything clicked into place for him. He didn't say anything but, judging by the surprised expression on his face, Billy knew that Trent had recognised what Billy had once been long ago. Power Rangers could recognise other Rangers if they knew the tell tale signs to look out for.

"We can use this truck to get us to Corinth. I'll drive," Billy said.

"No, I'll drive, dear," Cestria cut in as she gently carried Kira into the back of the prisoner truck and put her down on one of the benches. "You've got some explaining to do, husband."

Billy sighed as she jumped into the driver's seat. He then got in the back of the truck with Anton and Trent. The truck had no doors, or a barrier to put up at the back, to prevent them from falling out so they had to hold on tightly to the sides of the benches. Billy found this so easy that he managed to keep Kira in the back of the truck with one hand as he held onto the bench that he was sitting on with the other.

Silence prevailed for several moments as no one dared to say anything. Trent didn't want to ask what he was dying to ask, Anton had nothing to say and Billy was waiting for either of them to say something first. Eventually, Billy decided that it was safe for him to speak.

"You wanted to know how I know Dr Oliver, Trent. I think, however, that you've already got some idea of what I'm about to tell you. This whole tale begins many years ago, in a place called Angel Grove... We first met him at a Martial Arts tournament because my friends and I were there to cheer on our friend, and Red Ranger, Jason Lee Scott. His opponent in the final was a very young handsome man, your mentor, Dr Tommy Oliver. Little did we realise at that moment that he would enter our lives in a way no one could have guessed. However, the story that you want to hear, I think, begins slightly before that fateful day. It started off like any other day for me and for my four friends, Jason, Kimberly, Zack and Trini, but we had no idea that day would change our lives forever as..." Billy began as he told them his story and everything he knew about the events that had occurred afterwards.

None of them realised, though, that two pairs of unwanted ears were listening into everything that Billy was saying as they hitched a ride to Corinth underneath the prisoner truck.

_Corinth City, late afternoon, almost early evening_

"That's us," RJ said. He sighed in relief as he and Tommy had finally destroyed the last group of Z-Putties. He looked around. "And there's still no sign of that monster so I guess that we can get out of here now."

RJ had his back to the monster just as it appeared. Tommy was instantly alarmed by the fact that RJ was vulnerable.

"You spoke too soon," Tommy warned. "Behind you!"

RJ turned instantly to see the ugly monster behind him before he fell back to regroup with Tommy. The monster looked like a cross between a plant and a tree but it couldn't be definitively classed as one or the other. It was a hybrid creature, one of Zedd's specialities, because they tended to be harder to defeat than the normal monsters.

"Rangers, my master, Lord Zedd sent me here to destroy you! I am Thorntrap! I'll use my vines to crush you and my roots to uproot Corinth City! Be prepared for your end!" The monster exclaimed.

It was ugly, there wasn't any doubt about that. It had long arms of grey bark and its left hand was a massive jagged thorn. Its right hand had several vines with many sharp, poisonous stingers attached to them. Its feet were surrounded by many brown roots and its head was like a green fly-trap with many poisonous thorns as teeth from which acid dripped from. The two eyes, if they could be called eyes, were tiny little black dots on his forehead.

Tommy grimaced. This monster was definitely going to be a tough one to defeat.

"RJ, whatever you do, make sure that its acid doesn't get on you," Tommy exclaimed as he dodged several acid balls thrown at him.

RJ nodded as they charged into battle. Every punch and kick was met by the thorn or the vines by Thorntrap. Eventually, RJ and Tommy changed tactics as it was clear to them that attacking it aimlessly was getting them nowhere.

"Back, I've got an idea," he exclaimed as he broke free and jumped back. Tommy trusted him so he quickly followed suit. RJ then went through several meditative stances as he prepared himself for his attack.

"Call to the spirit within, unleash the Wolf!" he exclaimed as he moved his hands together. Seconds later, the purple wolf spirit leapt out from between his hands and quickly took out Thorntrap.

"Nice work, RJ," Tommy complimented as they regrouped. "But we're not done yet."

Zedd's Z-Staff suddenly appeared on a nearby building. Seconds later, Thorntrap had been energized enough to grow to full size as the Z-Staff vanished.

"Miss me?" it demanded as it attempted to strike at them with its massive vines. Tommy and RJ leapt out of its reach. The ground began to shake as Thorntrap ingrained its roots.

"Not particularly, no," Tommy called in reply as he powered down. "We'll need to take it a step further now. My Laser Pistol, RJ?"

RJ nodded and passed it back. As soon as he did, it disappeared in a flash of red light and returned to the Zeonizer. It was at that moment that Tommy had an idea but, before he could say anything, RJ had summoned the Wolf, Jaguar and Tiger spirits to form the Wolf Pride Megazord.

Tommy sighed as he flipped out his communicator. "Alpha, send the Falconzord and the Phoenix to me. RJ hasn't got a clue about what we're up against here."

Tommy began to formulate a plan. He knew that he would be better suited to pilot the Falconzord and that meant he would have to leave the Phoenix for RJ. Above him, RJ, after a brief struggle, had apparently beaten Thorntrap. However, some things could never be that easy.

"Piece of cake," RJ smirked as he turned his back on his enemy as Thorntrap exploded. Tommy watched as Thorntrap reformed by draining water from the soil and using to grow.

_Just as I thought, RJ underestimated him. Unfortunately, this monster is going to be tough to defeat. Let's hope that I can actually succeed with my plan as it has never been tried before. _Tommy thought as he watched with a smile on his face.

"RJ, look out!" Tommy shouted as Thorntrap went for the Wolf Pride Megazord. It wasn't going to make a difference anyway because RJ's response would come all too late to stop Thorntrap but Tommy didn't want RJ to be able to say that Tommy hadn't warned him.

RJ half-turned but his reaction had come too late as Thorntrap was already upon him. Thorntrap plunged his jagged thorn into the heart of the Megazord and RJ was thrown from the Wolf Pride Megazord as it vanished. The attack had also taken him out of his Ranger form. Tommy went over to him to help him up.

"That guy is tough," RJ moaned as he gripped his chest in pain. "He isn't unbeatable, though."

"His fatal weakness lies in the fact that he is highly combustible, I think. I've got a plan but, in order for it to work, you'll need to pilot one of my Zords," Tommy replied.

"I'll do it. We had better Ranger up," RJ replied. "I'm not letting a monster best me, even though it's my first monster since I became a Power Ranger again, because, when I find my friends, I don't want them to have an excuse to laugh at me."

Tommy nodded as he closed his eyes. To use the Falconzord, he'd need his Ninja Ranger Powers. He pulled out the Falcon Power Coin and then nodded to RJ. They morphed but this time, Tommy didn't have the cloth headgear to hide his face. All he had was a headband around his forehead with the symbol of the Falcon Power Coin on it.

RJ looked at him questioningly from behind his helmet and Tommy, sensing his gaze, smiled in return.

"My friend, I told you that I had five morphers. In this incarnation, I'm the White Ninja Ranger," Tommy smiled as the Falconzord and Zeozord V, the Phoenix, suddenly burst into the sky over head through a hole in the shields.

"Take the Phoenix RJ and wait until the right moment to unleash a fire based attack on Thorntrap. I'm going to try to uproot it!" Tommy exclaimed as he leapt up into the Falconzord. RJ quickly followed his lead by leaping into the Phoenix cockpit. They both dodged Thorntrap as it tried to strike them out of the sky.

Tommy began to concentrate as he prepared himself for his trick by using meditation to relax enough so that it would work. His attempt to uproot Thorntrap would be risky as the Falcon Power Coin was tied to his life force so, if he used too much of its power, it could kill him. Furthermore, what he had planned had never actually been done before so it was going to be a big leap of absolute faith which had the potential to end in tragedy. Eventually, once Tommy found his inner calm, he struck as the Falconzord swooped around Thorntrap. He channelled his powers into the Falconzord through his morpher which caused it to vanish under the Earth.

"Tommy what are you doing?" RJ exclaimed in shock. Seconds later, Thorntrap was uprooted and the Falconzord, as Tommy had channelled his powers into it to allow it to copy a Ninjetti technique, emerged from beneath the Earth whilst glowing an odd white colour. This light quickly dissipated as the Falconzord flew up out of the way of Thorntrap. Within the cockpit, Tommy had been forcibly powered down because of the immense drain on his life force it had taken for his plan to work.

"Strike RJ!" Tommy shouted through the communication link as he realised that RJ was still in a state of shock. He knew that, if RJ wasn't snapped out of it soon, they would lose their chance to destroy Thorntrap forever.

RJ, from within the cockpit of the Phoenix, instantly snapped out of his shock and struck with a fiery attack that burned away Thorntrap. Its exposed roots meant that it couldn't regenerate itself as this happened because its roots were being destroyed as well.

As the monster exploded into chunks of clay, Tommy leapt out of the Falconzord back down to Earth and RJ followed after him soon after. RJ powered down as he landed and both Zords left Corinth City to return to storage in the Brachiozord. Tommy stood beside the Dino ATV and it was clear to RJ that he was absolutely exhausted after using his life force to successfully manage to outsmart Thorntrap.

"Friend, you're full of surprises," RJ replied. "You need to teach me a few of your techniques."

"That trick took everything that I had to work. I didn't know if it was going to work or not until I actually attempted it so I'm just glad that Thorntrap is now gone."

The communicator on his Brachio Morpher beeped.

"Tommy, come in," Alpha said.

"I'm here, Alpha," Tommy assured. "And before Zordon asks, I'm fine."

"Ai, Ai, Ai, you had us all worried," Alpha exclaimed. "That was such a cool trick you played there. We didn't know that it was possible to use the Power Coins to charge up Zords but, now that we do, we'll have to investigate the matter further."

"Tommy, our sensors indicate that Thorntrap has been permanently destroyed. Come back to the Brachiozord as soon as you can as we have much to discuss," Zordon replied. "Good job, RJ. You have clearly got the courage of a wolf."

"Thank you for your high praise, Zordon. I look forward to meeting you in person soon," RJ replied as he spread his arms out wide and shrugged. "Well, what can I say other than that everyone wants to see me today?"

Tommy smiled. "Unfortunately, Zordon, there's just one more thing that we've got to do first. We'll be back as soon as we've freed the RPM Power Rangers from jail."

"Very well," Zordon replied. "I wish you luck, Tommy."

"We'll try to keep out of serious trouble. Tommy out," he said as he cut off the communication link.

"I think, Tommy, that trouble has found us," RJ said as he gestured for him to look up. Tommy looked up to see that a team of security officers from the Corinth Defence Force had surrounded them. He sighed.

"Halt, by order of Colonel Truman, you have to come with us!" one shouted. Tommy stepped back as his hand rested on the Dino ATV.

"Sorry, I'm afraid that we're not going anywhere with you. Tell your Colonel that he and I will speak in person soon enough but only when I decide to pay him a visit," Tommy declared as he sat on the Dino ATV side on. RJ suddenly realised what he was about to do and prepared himself.

"Failure to comply..." another began as Tommy revved the engine of the Dino ATV into gear. RJ jumped onto the back of the ATV before it sped off. Eventually, after they had dodged a few laser beams, they escaped from the Corinth Defence Force.

One of the team sighed. Little did the fugitives realise that there was nowhere they could flee from the Corinth Defence Force to as it knew exactly where they were going.

_The Moon, Zedd and Rita's palace, late afternoon, at that very moment_

Zedd cursed from where he stood by the telescope.

"Rangers! Rangers! Rangers!" he shouted. "Why do the Power Rangers always ruin everything?"

"I wouldn't know... your evilness..." Finster stuttered. He had been watching everything from the telescope as well and he was surprised that the Rangers had managed to beat one of his more diabolical creations. "It shouldn't have failed, after all, as I designed that monster to your every requirement, Lord Zedd."

"Well it seems that you're incompetent enough to fail regardless of what I say. If your next monster fails..." Zedd replied ominously.

"Oh no, Lord Zedd. It won't! I'll get onto it right away," Finster said as he scuffled away.

"Squatt, Baboo, you pair of imbeciles, go help him!" Zedd roared at the two loafers, who were sitting in a chair nearby, as they attempted to play rock, paper, scissors but they were failing miserably. At his shout, they instantly rushed away to help Finster.

Zedd then sighed again. "I'll destroy the Rangers. Then, I'll destroy Tommy Oliver! Even if I have to do it myself, although I hope it doesn't come to that, I will destroy them. Then, the Earth will be mine. Mark my words, their days are numbered."

Zedd then stormed off as he was angry about Finster's failure. He was also angry about the fact that there were even more Rangers getting in his way.

_Where were they all coming from? _he thought angrily as he destroyed a nearby table in rage.

For a very brief second, a very different, distressed, part of his mind thought about Rita. His love of her was the only good thing left in him now but it was quickly buried underneath the scheming evil side of him again. As he stalked away, his mind was busy concocting another scheme to destroy the Power Rangers. Its chances of success, though, were rather slim considering the bumbling idiots he had for "generals".


	5. Chapter 4: Flight and Repairs

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 4: Flight and Repairs

_Corinth City, early evening_

RJ and Tommy turned yet another corner and came face to face with the Corinth Defence Force again. However, Tommy managed to dodge them yet again by fleeing onto another deserted street. They had been trying to lose the Corinth Defence Force for the better part of the last ten minutes and the fact that the Corinth Defence Force was still on their tail was beginning to annoy them both. Every time that they swerved onto one street to avoid the Corinth Defence Force, they were waiting at the other end as if they knew where Tommy was heading.

"They must be tracking us somehow," RJ warned finally. "They've been waiting for us at the end of every street we've turned onto even though we've been using every trick up our sleeves to get away."

Tommy skidded to a halt. "You're right, RJ. If they're tracking us then they're probably following the Dino ATV as it's rather a distinct vehicle. To escape them, we'll have to abandon the Dino ATV and travel over the rooftops so that they can't spot us easily. We're not too far away from our destination now anyway."

He activated the communicator. "Alpha, transport the Dino ATV back to the Brachiozord for storage. We're going to go on over the rooftops from here because we can't seem to shake the Corinth Defence Force."

"Ai, Ai, Ai! A scan indicates that it has a tracking device implanted on its side. Once it gets back, I'll have it removed instantly but it's no surprise that they were able to use it to predict your every move," Alpha exclaimed as he activated the teleportation controls.

They got off the Dino ATV before it vanished in a beam of black energy seconds later as Alpha 5 teleported it back to the Brachiozord. Then, both Tommy and RJ quickly scaled a nearby building to get out of sight before they fled across the rooftops as they made their way towards the RPM Command Centre. Below them, the Corinth Defence Force was searching for them and it was clear that they were quite puzzled by the fact that they had both managed to vanish into thin air. However, the Corinth Defence Force knew that there was only one place that Tommy and RJ could go to nearby so they set off to intercept them there.

When they arrived at their destination, Tommy hauled RJ under the partially lowered garage door so that they could enter the RPM Command Centre. As soon as they heard the approaching Corinth Force, they dove under Dillon's car before the security officers burst in with their weapons drawn. The Corinth Defence Force were hoping that they had the element of surprise but they didn't as Tommy had believed it likely that they would know where he had planned to go so he had been prepared accordingly.

From where they were concealed under the car, Tommy concentrated as he channelled the powers of the Black Dino Gem to conceal both of them from the Corinth Defence Force. Now, they only had to wait until the Corinth Defence Force left before they could set to work.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, early evening, at that moment_

At that very moment, the prisoner truck shook violently as Cestria drove over a rock which sent Billy tumbling off the bench that he was sitting upon. Moments before, he had just finished his tale and, now, Anton was quietly contemplating his words. Trent, however, seemed quite puzzled about one thing.

"I don't understand, why does the Power keep choosing him? I know that it can choose any of us again but why does it repeatedly choose Dr O.?" he asked.

Billy shrugged as he sat back down on the bench. "I don't know why the Power chooses him but I've often wondered why Tommy? Why is he so special?" Billy replied as he paused for a moment to allow them both to consider his point. "Even though we are unlikely to ever know for certain, I can speculate about the answer to these questions. I believe that he must be linked to the Universal Morphing Grid more strongly than the rest of us. The fact that Good and Evil chose him to become a Power Ranger, which marks him as a rare object of neutrality in the war between them, could play a part in why he has been chosen more than once as well."

Anton, who had been silent up until this point, spoke up. "I've got a funny feeling that his fate will require him to find that answer for himself without our opinions on the matter," he said.

At that moment, Cestria slammed on the brakes again which caused the truck to come to a sudden halt. The force of this stop caused Billy to be thrown out of the truck and he quickly vanished underneath the sand. Trent instantly jumped out of the prisoner truck after him but he could see no sign of Billy anywhere.

"Billy, Billy, are you all right?" Trent called.

Cestria jumped out of the front of the truck and instantly ran over to Trent. "Billy!" she called in concern.

There was a groan in response to both their calls a second later. "I'm all right," he replied as he moved away some of the sand to reveal that he had fallen into the mouth of a cave. At that moment, Kira cried out which caused everyone to turn to her. She was considerably worse now than earlier as she was soaked heavily with beads of sweat and she was also tossing restlessly where she lay. Anton instantly went to her side.

"She's getting worse so we'll need to find help soon as I don't think that she'll last much longer," Anton warned.

"I've found something which both of you might want to see. Bring Kira down here," Billy called after he had ventured deeper into the cave. Trent collected Kira from his father and they followed Cestria into the cave. Once inside the cave, Trent couldn't shake off the feeling that it was hauntingly familiar to him somehow but it wasn't until he saw the dinosaur embedded into the wall that he realised just how familiar it was.

"It's the Dino Thunder Command Centre!" Trent burst out instantly.

Billy smiled at this as he calmly pulled down the jaw of the dinosaur on the wall at the end of the tunnel. The wall rattled away instantly to reveal the Dino Thunder Command Centre but it looked as if it had been abandoned which told Billy that Tommy had indeed left for Corinth.

Trent looked around the familiar Command Centre. The evidence that Dr Oliver had been living there was rife because there was a bed, which must have been dragged down to the Command Centre during the Venjix invasion, lying in an alcove that had once housed the Raptor Cycles. There were also blankets and a black leather journal on the bed which Tommy had apparently forgotten about before he had left for Corinth City. Before anyone else could look at it, Billy snatched it up and checked it. Then he smiled.

"It's a complete list of everything that he had recovered and it also details the location of a spare hard drive which contains a back up of the system. He's likely to have forgotten to lift it before he left for Corinth as well. Just put Kira on the bed, Trent," Billy informed them. "Cestria, can you see if there is a water source because Kira is going to be needing some water? If there's any food left behind as well, could you bring me it as I'm positively starving?"

Cestria nodded in reply as she entered the side caverns. Billy then began to search for the hard drive but it was Trent who eventually found it. Tommy had hidden it behind one of the wall panels which had fallen away when Trent had accidentally brushed against it to reveal the hard drive.

Once Billy had retrieved the hard drive, plugged it in and started up the installation of the files, he sat back down onto leather chair.

"All we can do now is wait until the system has installed. Once that's done, I'll be able to call the Brachiozord for help by sending out an SOS," Billy sighed. "It's likely that there won't be any problematic security programs on the system either so everything after the installation should be plain sailing."

Cestria returned with water and gently forced Kira to swallow it all. Then, she sighed as she sat on the bed beside Kira.

"There's no food left because he's taken it all with him. We'll have to use _our _supplies, husband," she informed Billy.

"Great," Billy sighed as he took out a silver flask, with a milky white liquid in it, from within his pack. He took a few sips which caused him to shiver before he passed it around.

"Drink. It's a special energy drink which should be extremely good for you but I must warn you that it has a very bitter taste," Billy warned.

Without hesitation, Trent drank a few sips of the liquid as years of being a prisoner in the labour camp had taught him that, if anything edible was offered to you, you accepted it or starved. The bitter taste of the liquid made him blanch but he did manage to quickly swallow it down before he passed the flask to his father.

"Is it that bad?" Anton asked as he hesitated.

"Yes. It does restore your strength, though, dad," Trent replied as he felt instantly rejuvenated. Anton nodded as drank a few sips before swallowing them down quickly. Then, he shuddered.

"What exactly is it?" he asked.

"It's a restorative remedy that I've had to survive on for many years," Billy replied. "It's made from a very bitter berry but it's extremely rejuvenating."

"It's absolutely disgusting, though," Anton declared as he shuddered. Billy couldn't help but laugh at this as he had told his wife for years that it tasted absolutely awful but she hadn't believed him Perhaps, now, Cestria would believe him as he wasn't the only one complaining about just how awful the drink tasted.

_Corinth City, RPM Command Centre, mid-evening_

"I thought that they would never leave," RJ groaned as they slipped out from under the car. "I also thought that we were done for when that security officer looked under the car. For me, staring into that guy's eyes was terrifying because I thought that we were going to be arrested for sure. He should have seen us, but he obviously didn't, so what did you do to hide us?"

"I used the invisibility powers of my Dino Gem to hide us both. Don't worry, we were never in any danger of being found," Tommy assured as he made his way through into Dr K.'s lab. Dillon still lay on the table and his expression was perfectly serene but he was still unconscious. His vital signs were being displayed on a nearby monitor and, when Tommy checked, they were all at normal levels for a human. Tommy picked up Dr K.'s scanner so that he could scan him for another important reading which had to be taken into account in Dillon's case. The results puzzled him.

Knowing what he did about cyborgs, half-human and half-robot beings, Tommy knew that there had to be electricity going through his mechanical parts to keep him alive. However, the scanner couldn't detect any voltage or current but he was still breathing and his heart was still beating regardless. After taking a moment to consider it, Tommy guessed that Venjix must not have tampered with certain vital human organs during converting Dillon into a cyborg, such as his heart and lungs, which meant that he was lucky to still be alive. RJ waltzed through at that moment after he had spent a few moments admiring the Command Centre.

"They've got quite a nice place which is much better than my loft," RJ said as he looked around and admired the Command Centre. He quickly noticed Dillon. "Who's that guy?"

"Ranger Operator Series Black aka Dillon. He sacrificed himself to save the others during Venjix's destruction and has been in a coma ever since," Tommy replied as he turned to him. "He's a cyborg, but not by choice, who owes me his life because I gave Summer the antidote to a virus which could have killed him."

"So what must we do to rouse him?" RJ asked instantly.

"Just stand back and let me do all the work, RJ," Tommy smiled as he collected a piece of wire from the table nearby. He joined the wire to his Brachio Morpher at one end and to Dillon's finger at the other. Seconds later, sparks of electricity passed down the wire which burnt it to a crisp at both ends. However, it didn't burnt out before some of the sparks reached Dillon and he gasped in a deep breath as they did.

Tommy checked his vital signs again using the scanner and he found that there was now electricity flowing through his robotic implants but Tommy knew that it would take a while before Dillon would wake. As Tommy calmly disposed of the burnt wire, RJ sensed that they were going to be waiting around for a while so he decided that he would make good use of the time available by cooking up something good for them to eat.

"Whilst we're waiting for Dillon to wake up, why don't we have some refreshments?" RJ suggested. "I don't know about you but I'm rather hungry because of fighting those Z-Putties."

"I'm rather hungry as well," Tommy admitted as RJ smiled.

He instantly went to the fridge and found some eggs and a bottle of milk. "You just sit back, relax and let RJ, the master chef, do the cooking," he said as he made several exaggerated gestures. Tommy smiled.

"Whatever you say, RJ," Tommy replied calmly as he took a seat at Dr K.'s computer so that he could begin to check over the diagnostics run on the Zords. He found that a firewall had been erected around the Zord controls which was preventing anyone from piloting the Zords. As soon as the code appeared on-screen, Tommy knew that it wasn't going to be an easy problem to fix.

Six years ago, Tommy wouldn't have been able to handle this sort of problem on his own. He would've had to rely upon Hayley, the technical genius, MIT graduate and his close friend, to deal with it.

However, that was six years ago. Back then, he had needed to become a technical expert so that he could rebuild and reprogram the Biozords. Tommy had enlisted Hayley to teach him. It had paid off considerably because, now, after six years of intensive studying, he too was as good she had been, perhaps even better, with computers. He still didn't know if he could call himself a technical genius, though.

Tommy was certainly able to outsmart Dr K., who was definitely a genius, and was also likely to be as good as Billy as well. However, for him the final test would be this firewall. As far he was concerned, he could really call himself a technical genius if he could break through it to the Zord Controls.

From the kitchen, a delightful aroma was slowly wafting through the air to Tommy as he called up the firewall interface on screen.

"What are you up to now?" RJ called through as he cooked up their dinner. Tommy smiled at this as he began to slowly hack through the first few sections of the firewall.

"I'm trying to get their Zords back online. Although the damage done to them has been repaired, they've been infected by a firewall which renders them absolutely useless. Right now, I'm trying to get through that firewall," Tommy replied as he finally got through the first layer of the firewall and began to start on the second layer. The firewall was very impressive as it consisted of a one complex firewall which instantly split into several smaller firewalls, with their own complex layers of protection, as soon as he attempted to hack through the second layer. There wasn't any doubt in Tommy's mind that this was definitely going to be a worthy challenge. He whistled as the smaller firewalls split again.

"Did you find anything interesting?" RJ asked as he carried through some perfectly made scrambled eggs on toast. It wasn't quite the culinary masterpiece that Tommy had been expecting RJ to cook up because it was such a simple dish. However, it was still rather tasty and it left Tommy quite full once he had finished it.

"A few things," Tommy replied as he finished off the last mouthful of toast. "The first layer of protection was a piece of cake but this second layer is proving to be extremely complex. It's basically made of several miniature firewalls, each with complex multiple layers of protection, which break up into much smaller firewalls if you attempt to hack them. However, if I encrypt the frequencies of the layers of protection into useless code which should allow me to strip them away... And, if I exploit the holes in each firewall to deactivate them one by one..." He paused as he began to code rapidly to take out the firewalls. "Voilà!"

The screen now showed the Zord Control status panel and Tommy smiled in satisfaction as he cracked his knuckles.

"I've got no idea what you just did there but the important thing is that it worked," RJ admitted.

Tommy laughed helplessly. "Oops. I'm sorry, RJ. I guess that I must have descended into the technical jargon that no one understands unless they're a computer geek," he apologised. "I guess I've got to start being careful so that I don't end up like Billy was back then."

RJ nodded. "Ok, what now?" he asked.

Before Tommy could reply to his question, Dillon began to stir. RJ quickly took away the plates and washed them in the kitchen. It was only when RJ returned did Dillon finally wake up from the coma that he had been in.

As soon as Dillon saw them, he scrambled off the table he had been lying on. It was clear to them both as he backed away that he was extremely confused.

"What happened? And where are the others? And who are you?" he demanded instantly.

Tommy sighed. "That, my friend, is a long story which we're best to tell you about over some refreshments. You've been out cold for a while and several things have happened since you were last awake that you need to know about."

It was clear that Dillon distrusted them but RJ shrugged. "Have it your way, friend. We'll be waiting for you in the kitchen when you finally decide to trust us."

RJ's cold response startled Tommy but he followed RJ through to the kitchen nonetheless. As they sat down at the counter, RJ poured out orange juice into three glasses and quickly took one to drink from. Several minutes later, Dillon decided to join them and, as he sat down, RJ passed him a glass.

"I'm glad to see that you've chosen to join us. I'm RJ and this is my friend, Dr Thomas Oliver," RJ smiled. "But of course, I already know of you Dillon, Ranger Operator Series Black, or RPM Ranger Black."

Dillon opened his mouth to say something but decided to hold it back.

"Actually, RJ, I don't use Thomas at all. My name is Tommy," Tommy replied as he smiled. "I guess you're wondering how we know of your Ranger status right now. We are both Power Rangers as well and, if you don't believe us, I can always prove it to you."

Dillon shrugged. "Go ahead but, as ridiculous as this may sound, I do believe your story although it sounds pretty crazy in a strange way."

Tommy smiled as he began to rummage through his pocket for one of his morphers. "Let's see... Dragon Power Coin, Tiger Power Coin, Falcon Power Coin... Which should I use?"

"Just use the one on your wrist, Tommy," RJ snapped. He was beginning to get frustrated because Tommy was taking so long to decide on a morpher.

"As much as I like the form of the Black Dino Ranger, I've got to practice using my other forms as well you know. I was trying to choose something slightly different this time but I'll just use the Brachio Morpher to save us time," Tommy countered as he searched his pocket for the key. Eventually, he found it and moved away from the table into an open space so that he would be able to perform the flip as he morphed.

"Dino Thunder, power up! Ha!" He called as he turned the key into his morpher and unlocked his Black Dino Ranger form. Finally, he performed the flip that allowed him to morph. Once it was over, Tommy leaned back against the nearby stairs. Dillon was quietly impressed by this display although he managed to retain an indifferent expression. "Do you know, there's only one thing which annoys me about this form."

He paused for a moment to give them time to guess. "It's the length of time which I spent trapped in it because of a sequence of events which began when Trent Mercer, while under his evil gem's power, fossilised me."

"At least, you weren't able to feel anything whilst you were trapped in amber. It was agonizing when I began transforming into a werewolf because of Dai Shi," RJ countered as Tommy powered down.

"I suppose you're right. I was fortunate," Tommy said as he considered RJ's words whilst he returned to the table. "I definitely couldn't feel anything whilst I was trapped in amber but it caused so much hassle.'

"Anyway, he needs to know the full truth about the events of today," Tommy said after a moment of silence. "You'll be happy to know that Venjix was destroyed for good, Dillon. Our lives, however, are still in great danger because of what you did. You see..."

_Corinth City, Corinth City Prison,_ _heavily guarded prison cell, mid-evening, at that very moment_

Scott and Flynn restlessly paced up and down within the confinements of the cell. It had been a few hours since they had been arrested and they were all now starting to get hungry, tired and rather worried about Dillon. Tenaya 15 and Summer sat with Dr K. on the only bed whilst Gem and Gemma stood propped up against the bars at one side of the cell. Ziggy stood in the corner of the other side of the cell beside the door.

"Stop pacing, it is starting to get annoying," Dr K. complained. Scott turned to her.

"I'm sorry, Dr K., but you can't blame me for being restless. There's probably a dangerous battle going on out there right now which, because we're stuck in here, we can't take part in. For this reason, I can't help that I'm anxious to hear any news," he exclaimed as he gestured wildly. "Besides, I'm worried about Dillon like everyone else in this cell. We should be tending to him! We shouldn't be stuck in here!"

"I'm sure the mysterious ranger and his new friend, whoever they are, will deal with the monsters in Corinth. We all saw how that Ranger made mincemeat of Goldar and I'm sure, because of this fact, that he and his friend are probably doing the same to the monsters out there right now," Ziggy replied calmly. They had chosen not to name Tommy as they knew that they were likely being monitored by Colonel Truman and they didn't want him to find out that they knew the truth about Tommy.

"And I'm sure, without a doubt, that he'll wake Dillon. Together, they'll rescue us," Summer added. "Dillon won't leave us trapped in here."

"Summer, he is not going to have much of a chance without his morpher," Dr K. said quietly. "The odds are against him."

"The mysterious Ranger will surely help Dillon to free us," Gemma countered. "When they get here, it will be major..."

"Boom time!" Gem finished as they both got rather excited. Tenaya 15, who had been quiet up until this point, shook her head at both of them.

"You're both being too optimistic. I agree that my brother will almost certainly try to rescue us but whether he succeeds or not is another matter entirely," Tenaya 15 replied grimly.

"We should have a backup escape plan just in case they don't come. I've got an idea..." Flynn whispered as everyone quickly huddled together to hear his backup plan.

_Reefside, Dino Thunder Command Centre, mid-evening_

The file installation was complete and Billy turned back to the computer. Up until the beep which indicated that it was done, Billy had ignored the conversation which was currently going on between Cestria and Trent about where she came from. Cestria was being deliberately vague about her origins as she knew that it wasn't quite time yet for them to know about her being an alien from Aquitar because it would certainly cause a few problems.

Billy began furiously typing so that he could hack through the layers of coded protection around the files. Every time he tried various methods of decryption, the encrypted code altered itself in response. Billy was extremely impressed by this.

"Wow," he whistled as he continued typing.

"Is that a good or bad thing?" Trent asked as he came over to look at the complex layers of code.

"It's a wow, I'm impressed, Trent. I didn't know that Tommy could program to this degree of complexity. Every single time someone attempts to access his the files, his encrypted code alters itself. An intelligent program is something that I haven't seen for a long time so it's going to take a while to get to the files. You'll have to bear with me until then," Billy replied grimly.

"Dr O. can program?" Trent said puzzled. "There's no way that he created this. Hayley must have provided this as anything to do with computers wasn't Dr O.'s forte!"

"I'm afraid that Tommy did create this masterpiece. Hayley had been teaching him, in the years before the Venjix invasion, to become a technical genius. On top of that, he's had two years in solitude to hone his skills," Billy replied as he turned to explain everything to them. "But it's ironic that he was once so badly computer illiterate but has now become an apparent genius. This program is going to be difficult to crack but I should be able to find its weakness eventually. Until then, Kira will just have to hold on for a little while longer."

"Husband, she's getting worse by the hour," Cestria warned. "She can't wait much longer."

Billy nodded. "I'll get right back to decrypting the files."

"And I'll help you as I wasn't head of Mercer Industries for nothing," Anton added as he came over to see the code on the computer screen as well.

"Let's just hope that Kira can hang on until you crack the encryption," Trent said quietly as he turned to Kira. She lay on the bed and was sweating heavily. She was rather pale, her clothing was bloodstained and so now were the bandages around her wound. He knew that she was close to death but that thought tore him apart inside as they were so hopelessly in love with each other.

As if she could strangely sense what he was thinking about, Cestria smiled reassuringly at him.

"Trent, Kira is strong. She'll pull through this," she reassured. "Just you wait and see."

_Corinth City, RPM Command Centre, late evening _

"So what do we do?" Dillon asked as soon as the tale was done.

"We're going to repair the suits and the morphers first. We've only got a few hours to midnight to do it in. Then, we'll break the RPM Power Rangers out of their imprisonment. There's only one place that Colonel Truman can hold them in indefinitely and that's the Corinth City Prison within a high security cell. There will be increased security around the building so it won't be easy to get in there," Tommy replied as he paused. "I'm not a complete technical genius but I do know one thing: it won't be easy to repair your equipment as the explosion will have caused extensive damage to your morphers. However, I've got one trick up my sleeve."

Tommy quickly activated his communicator.

"Alpha, I'm going to need your help down here buddy," Tommy called. "The suits, the morphers and equipment for the RPM Power Rangers are so badly damaged that we're going to need someone with an extensive knowledge of morphers and their circuitry to help us repair them."

"Tommy, our sensors last indicated that you were being pursued by the Corinth Defence Force. Have you lost them?" Zordon asked instantly.

"Yes, Zordon, we've lost them for now. Did Alpha get rid of the tracking device on the Dino ATV?" Tommy replied.

"Yes, Tommy. It was only simple device but I did destroy it nonetheless," Alpha replied. "I'll be down there with you in a minute. Alpha out."

Seconds later, a flash of red, blue and gold light deposited Alpha 5 outside the RPM Command Centre. He came in quickly and, as he entered, he initiated a lockdown of the RPM Command Centre so that they wouldn't be disturbed.

"Alpha, over here," Tommy called as he stood up from the counter and went over to greet the robot.

"Ah, there you are, Rangers. You both must be RJ and Dillon. I must say, it's an honour to meet you! I'm Alpha 5, the loyal servant of Zordon of Eltar," Alpha said with excitement.

Dillon looked at Alpha. "I thought you would be... taller."

"So did I," RJ added.

"Alpha might be small but, as I like to say, the size of his heart more than makes up for it," Tommy smiled. "The morphers will be in Dr K.'s lab with the suits, Alpha. I'll show you the way."

Tommy led him through to the lab and Alpha spent a few seconds looking over the morphers.

"Do you think you can fix them?" he finally dared to ask Alpha after a few moments of silence.

"Yes, I'll be able to fix them but it might take a while," Alpha replied. "The damage is so significant that I'll need time to be left alone to be able to repair them effectively. Until then, you could perhaps fix the suits for me. You'll just need to give them a burst of energy from one of your morphers. The energy should activate the built in nanotechnology which should automatically repair them."

Tommy returned to RJ and Dillon as Alpha took the morphers deeper into Dr K.'s lab and began to fix them. Tommy, Dillon and RJ were left standing in front of the suits.

"Well?" Dillon asked.

"Alpha says that he can fix them but it's going to take him a while. However, he wants us to fix the suits in the meantime," Tommy answered.

"How?" RJ asked instantly.

"We've got to give them a burst of energy from our morphers to activate their nanotechnology," he said. "I've tried energizing something that way before and, believe me, it's extremely difficult to pull off."

RJ smiled. "We're Power Rangers so we should be able to do anything that we put our mind to."

"If we hone our energy and concentrate hard enough on channelling it outwards to the suits, our thoughts should cause the actions. We'll need to be in a state of calm so perhaps we could go through a set of meditative stances?" Tommy suggested as he searched his pocket for the Dragon Power Coin. When he found it, he took it out and nodded to RJ.

"Ready when you are," Tommy smiled. RJ nodded as he prepared to morph.

"Ready!" RJ replied. "Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!"

"Dragonzord," Tommy called. They morphed. RJ went through the stances so his Wolf Spirit could help him morph whilst Tommy simply rangered up. Then, they took off their helmets and put them to one side on a nearby table.

"We should go through the Crane stances as many find them the most difficult and the most calming," RJ suggested. A lump formed in Tommy's throat as he had hoped that RJ wouldn't request that particular set of stances but, because RJ could never learn of his feelings for Kimberly Anne Hart, Tommy knew that he would have to go along with his suggestion. Tommy nodded and put the thoughts of Kimberly to one side as they began to move through the stances. Punch, kick, punch, kick, back-flip, split kick, flip kick, punch, kick, punch, kick, back-flip, split kick, flip kick...

Dillon watched as they moved in unison like they were one mind. He was awed by the skill which they were displaying and he made a mental note to take lessons from them as, even if his fighting style was good, he knew that he would have to get much better to stand a chance against the evils Venjix's destruction had unleashed.

For RJ, memories of going through the Crane stances as a novice in Pai Zhua came back to him and, with those memories, so did memories of Dominic as well. Then, all the memories of the other Jungle Fury Power Rangers came back to him as well. The highs and the lows, the moments when the world depended on them and the moments when they were just friends having a laugh, the moments when he was the Pai Zhua master and the moments when he was just RJ, the fun-loving carefree chef, came back to him as well. All of these memories caused a sad smile to appear on his face as he remembered those wonderful happy moments and Fran, that cheerful caring friend of his, as well. With all his heart, RJ wanted to make things right again.

RJ knew that he had find them all regardless of where they were now. He knew that repairing the suits of the RPM Power Rangers was the first step along the path to their reunion but he knew that it was going to be a long and difficult journey. Regardless of how difficult it was to pull off such an energy burst, RJ knew that he had to make this work to allow him to continue on down this path.

As for Tommy, his thoughts were only of Kimberly. It was strange that, even though they had been separated for so long, she still had such a powerful effect on him. He had never gotten over her after her departure and, even though he had engaged in a brief relationship with Katherine, which hadn't worked for either of them, his heart still only belonged completely to her. Even now, he could remember her brilliant smile and her beautiful eyes which had lit up every time he had confessed that he had loved her.

They had still kept in contact as friends but, in Tommy's heart, she was always more than that to him as, so far, she was his first and only true love. He wondered then if she had survived the invasion and, if she was still alive, where she was now. Then, he wondered where all his friends, of past, present and future, were at this very moment but he knew that he would be able to search for them soon enough. Tommy resolved at that moment to find Kimberly, rescue her if he needed to, and to find his friends. He would fight evil in their name, and in hers, so that they could all have a normal life worth living once all this was over. A normal life without fear, or monsters, even if it were only for a little while before things descended into chaos again, was something worth fighting for.

He knew that he had already taken the first steps along this path with RJ and that the first important step which they had to take was to restore the RPM Power Ranger suits to normal. He knew that, with RJ at his side and his friends, once he had found them, with him that he could do anything which he set his mind to.

At that moment, as their determination to make their attempt to restore the RPM Power Ranger's suits work shone through, the Power from their morphers did as well. RJ and Tommy moved into the final stance, with their palms wide, and golden light shot forth from them. It instantly made a difference to the suits as the Power repaired the tears, the holes and the broken visors whilst it strengthened the suits as well because it added more power to them which left them in better condition than they were in originally.

Dillon looked at his suit. As much as he hated the spandex, it held a certain sentimental value to him so he was glad that it had been repaired. Dillon also knew that he was also going to need it now more than ever.

RJ and Tommy stood still for a moment as they were forcibly powered down. Their helmets vanished with their suits and it was clear to Dillon, because of the expressions on their faces, that they were absolutely exhausted.

"The ways of Pai Zhua aren't so different from the ways of Ninjetti," Tommy said calmly as he took a deep breath.

"Indeed, the teachings of both Pai Zhua and Ninjetti are based upon the animal spirits within," RJ said as he breathed heavily.

"Rangers!" Alpha called. "I've fixed the morphers!"

Tommy was surprised about this because it didn't seem like Alpha had been attempting to repair the morphers for a long time.

"Are you sure Alpha?" Tommy asked.

"Of course. You've both been at you meditative stances for hours, you know, although you probably won't have noticed," Alpha replied as he came through with the morphers on a tray. They looked as good as new and, if Tommy hadn't known that they had been wrecked hours before, he wouldn't have had a clue that they weren't brand new.

Tommy sighed. "It only felt like a few minutes."

"When you're wrapped up in meditative stances, time has no meaning so hours can pass quite easily," RJ said.

"Are you sure that you've fixed this?" Dillon asked as he picked out his morpher and his engine cell. Alpha nodded.

"I'm sure, dude," Alpha replied.

"We'll only know for certain if you test it by morphing," RJ replied.

Dillon nodded as he fitted the Rev Morpher to his wrist. "RPM," he called as he inserted the engine cell into the compartment and shut it again, "Get in Gear!"

He morphed instantly and Tommy smiled. "No adverse effects?"

Dillon looked down at his hands. "I feel stronger somehow but there doesn't seem to be any adverse effects," he replied as he powered down. He took the other morphers and fitted them into individual compartments in a satchel, which likely belonged to Summer, that was lying in the corner of the Command Centre.

"If I'm no longer needed here then I'll return to Zordon in the Brachiozord Command Centre. Just call me if you need me, Tommy," Alpha announced.

"Tell Zordon that we'll be back soon," Tommy replied. "I'll bring the RPM Power Rangers back with me as well as it won't be a good idea for them to stay in Corinth after I break them out of jail."

Alpha nodded. "Good luck in rescuing the other RPM Power Rangers, Rangers," he said before he teleported back to the Brachiozord Command Centre in a flash of red, blue and gold light.

Tommy smiled as he turned to the others. "I've got a plan but I'll tell you it on the way there. Dillon, can you guide us to the prison?"

"Easily," Dillon replied. "And I plan to help you free my friends as well."

"Good," Tommy smiled as he opened the garage door enough for them to leave. After he closed the garage door behind them, they set off across Corinth towards the Corinth City Prison.

_Reefside, Dino Thunder Command Centre, almost midnight_

"Yes!" Billy exclaimed triumphantly as he managed to get through the last defences to the system files. The password was the only thing that didn't surprise him as, fortunately, he remembered that Tommy had one rather fatal flaw; he always used the same password for his computer files as he could never think of a different one which he could remember off by heart. Unless a hacker had been a Power Ranger back then, they wouldn't have known of his love for the Original Pink Power Ranger, Kimberly Anne Hart. They also wouldn't have known that her Power Coin was that of the Crane and that his was the Falcon whilst they were Ninja Rangers. Hence, predictably, the password to enter the system was Falcon4Crane.

After a moment, the Brachiozord's location came up on screen along with its coordinates. The area which it was in was labelled Corinth City and, after another few minutes, various other dots also appeared on the screen which marked Ranger bases and former important locations for Power Rangers. There was also a warning message waiting for him.

"Typical Tommy," Billy smiled. "He left here in a hurry and forgot to take away something which he would need."

Billy reached under the keyboard to reveal a leather case in which Tommy's old wrist communicator, identical to the one around Billy's wrist, was stored.

"What is that thing?" Trent asked curiously.

"This, my friend, is an original wrist communicator. This one has more functionality than the later models built into morphers so Tommy will be glad to get this back," Billy replied as he set about sending out an SOS to the Brachiozord. Once he was finished, he sighed and left the computer console. "Now all we can do is wait."


	6. Chapter 5: Rescues and Reunions

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 5: Rescues and Reunions

_Corinth City, In The Streets Of Corinth, almost midnight, a few minutes later_

"How long until we get there?" Tommy asked as he and RJ followed Dillon as he led them through the streets of Corinth to the prison.

"Not long now," Dillon replied. "Are you really sure that we'll be able to rescue them from the high security cell?"

RJ and Tommy smiled at this.

"You underestimate our abilities, my friend," RJ said simply.

"And my planning skills," Tommy replied simply. "I've got a good plan to get your team-mates out of that prison."

"It had better be good. The security officers in the prison are amongst the most highly trained in the entire Corinth Defence Force," Dillon warned.

"Oh it is," Tommy grinned. "And I'll even do most of the hard work to get us in there. You see..."

And, with that, Tommy began to outline his plan as they grew ever closer to the Corinth City Prison.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, almost midnight_

Zordon was aroused from his thoughts when the lights in the Brachiozord turned blue. He looked up instantly.

"Alpha, report!" he demanded.

"Ai, Ai, Ai, we're receiving an SOS message from Billy. He's in the old Dino Thunder Command Centre with some of the Dino Rangers. One of them is seriously injured, Zordon, so should I alert Tommy? Should I command him to abandon the rescue attempt so that we can retrieve the injured Ranger?" Alpha asked as he turned to face the old sage.

"No. I will go to them, Alpha," Zordon replied as he got to his feet. He stretched for a moment to ease the stiffness that he was feeling because of the fact that he had been sitting in one place for the best part of the day. Then, he prepared to leave by picking up his staff and smoothing down his robes.

"Is this wise?" Alpha asked. "Zordon?"

"I am afraid that it is our only option, Alpha. I will be back soon with Billy and his companions. Until I return, continue to monitor the situation with Tommy. If he asks for my opinion on anything, just tell him that I am sleeping or that I am unavailable," Zordon replied. "The injuries must be serious for Billy to send out an SOS. It is best that I go so that I can heal the injuries and ensure that the injured Ranger lives. Besides, we cannot let anything disrupt the vital mission to free the RPM Power Rangers because they will become our valuable allies soon enough."

"As you wish, Zordon. I'll do my best to keep an eye on things until you return," Alpha replied.

"That is all I can ask of you, Alpha," Zordon smiled as he vanished in a flash of white light.

_Reefside, Dino Thunder Command Centre, almost midnight_

As Zordon reappeared in the centre of the Dino Thunder Command Centre, there was a massive pulse of white light. The light was so bright that it caused everyone except Billy to turn away.

"Zordon... but you were..." Billy stuttered in astonishment.

"I was, Billy. Now, I am back because of the accident," Zordon replied. "Due to the fact that Tommy is dealing with something important at that moment, I had to come to your aid instead. I hope that you do not mind."

Everyone else was quiet as they were unable to quite find the words to express their shock.

"She is in a very bad way, Zordon," Billy said finally as he overcame his shock and scrambled out of his chair to lead Zordon over to Kira who still lay on the bed. "Can you do something to help her?"

"Yes," Zordon replied "Rest assured, I will do everything in my power to make sure that Kira lives, Trent."

As he said that last part, Zordon turned to Trent who was still quite stunned to be in the presence of a living legend. Trent could only nod quietly in reply to this. He was still shocked, and somewhat speechless, due to the fact that Zordon often had a powerful effect on people the first time that they met him.

"Is there anything you need, great one?" Cestria asked as she too managed to overcome her shock.

"Some of the pure water that your people are so famous for, Cestria, is all that I require," Zordon replied calmly.

Cestria quickly handed over the last of the Aquitian pure water to Zordon before she got out of the way. Then, Zordon, by using his staff, managed to manipulate the water so that it hung as a ball at his side. Next, he gently tore away the bandages from Kira. Before, finally, he forced the pure water to form a barrier which began to heal her wound as he channelled his magic through the water into her. Minutes later, she was fully healed and she began to stir.

"A miracle," Billy breathed.

"Would you expect no less from me Billy?" Zordon said with a smile. "Now, I have got one other thing to do here tonight. Hold out your hands Billy and accept what you once lost."

Billy held out his hands without hesitation and Zordon closed his eyes as he held his hands over Billy's outstretched palms. Seconds later, the Triceratops Power Coin and the Wolf Power Coin appeared in them. Within a few seconds, Billy felt the flow of the Power spread upwards from the coins through his fingertips and from there to the rest of his body.

"Are you sure about this, Zordon?" Billy asked after a moment. "Do you really want to give me these back?"

"I am sure, Billy. You will need these Power Coins to defend the Earth from evil," Zordon replied as he created a bundle of clothing of various different colours in one corner. "I will be back soon but, until I return, I suggest that you clean yourselves up. Tommy is dealing with a matter that requires my close attention which I must keep an especially close eye upon."

Zordon vanished again and left behind the, now empty, water skin. Anton looked up to Billy as he took a deep breath.

"Now I understand the reason why you called him a legend. It isn't easy to forget about him once you've met him for the first time," Anton said slowly.

Trent went over to Kira just as she began to stir. As she woke to unfamiliar surroundings, she quickly panicked but Trent calmly reassured her.

"Kira... everything's all right. You're all right," he soothed as he smiled.

"What happened?" she asked. "Where are we?"

"It's a long story. I'm just glad that you're all right," Trent said as his smile broadened. "You see..."

_Corinth City, Corinth City Prison, up on the roof, midnight_

"Everyone knows the plan?" Tommy whispered. He was the only one out of the three of them morphed as he had volunteered to do most of the work tonight. Both Dillon and RJ nodded in reply to his question.

"This had better work," Dillon warned. "Otherwise..."

"Oh it'll work, Dillon. There's no question of that," RJ assured as he lifted up the air vent. "After you, Tommy."

Tommy nodded and slipped into the ventilation shaft. Then, he slowly shimmied down the shaft and, when he reached the bottom, he carefully removed the grate. It was dark in the jail and, as soon as he popped his head down to check that the coast was clear, he found his first victim. A security officer was rapidly approaching him.

Tommy waited until the security officer was under the shaft before he took him out using the element of surprise so that he couldn't call for help. Then he dragged the now unconscious security officer into a dark corner, so that he wouldn't be easily spotted in the dark corridors, and gave the signal, a light tap on the shaft, to Dillon and RJ on the roof that it was safe to follow him into the prison.

Seconds later, they both made the slide down the shaft and carefully managed to land without landing on top of each other.

After a moment, Tommy gestured for them to follow as they began to make their way through the corridors. They followed the signs to the high security section and, as they went, they were quietly taking out a few security officers here and there when they encountered them.

Finally, they reached the high security cell and things quickly erupted into an ugly and confused brawl. Dillon and RJ got the job of knocking out many of the officers whilst Tommy searched their pockets for the keys to the high security cell.

"Dillon, you're all right," was the pretty much universal sentence that left the lips of the RPM Power Rangers and Tenaya 15 as soon as their rescue had entered the room.

"The odds of this occurring were, of course, almost impossible if I might add..." Dr K. began with the only unique sentence as Dillon took out another officer. "I'm glad, however, to see that you are well Dillon."

Tommy took out the last security officer at that moment and found the keys on him. "This isn't the time or the place for prolonged happy reunions. It won't be long before the Corinth Defence Force swarm all over this building now that we're here so we're going to have to try to get out of here before then otherwise we'll have a problem," he warned as he began to try to find the right key to open the cell door. Eventually, RJ grew bored of waiting after Tommy had tried a number of different keys which hadn't worked.

"Stand aside, Tommy. Let a master of Pai Zhua teach you how it's done," RJ sighed. Tommy nodded in reply and stood back.

"I must warn all of you to stand back from the door if you don't want to get bitten," Tommy said quickly. Everyone in the cell complied instantly by moving back from the door.

RJ concentrated as he moved through the Stances of the Wolf Spirit.

"Call to the spirit within, unleash the Wolf!" he finally exclaimed seconds later as the Wolf Spirit leapt out from between his hands and tore the door off its hinges. Dillon caught it seconds later and gently lowered it to the ground to prevent the noise that it would have made had it crashed into the ground from attracting the attention of the Corinth Defence Force.

"That was so cool! You've got to teach me that one," Ziggy exclaimed as everyone flooded out of the cell. Dillon was quickly crushed in a tight hug from both Summer and Tenaya 15.

RJ smiled. "Once all of this is over, I might teach you someday. My name's RJ. It's nice to meet you."

At that moment, the alarm system in the prison went off which caused the lights to turn red.

"It's time to get out of here. Dillon, give out the morphers. We'll need Alpha to get out of this one," Tommy replied as he powered down so that he could activate the communicator on his Brachio Morpher. Dillon handed out the repaired morphers to the other, surprised, RPM Power Rangers at this command. "Alpha, can you hear me?"

"I hear you, Tommy," was Alpha's reply.

"We're going to require emergency teleportation. Can you get a lock on us?" Tommy asked.

"Yes, I'm locked on to all of you. However, your signal is far too weak for me to be able to teleport you out of there because of static interference that Colonel Truman has been creating. I'll need to reconfigure the Brachiozord into jet mode so that I can fly over Corinth City to boost your signal. Then, I'll need to remodulate your frequencies before I can teleport you up. At the most, I'll need ten minutes to make it work. The Corinth City Prison has entered lock-down, so all of the exits have been sealed, which means that you'll have to keep the Corinth Defence Force occupied until then," Alpha replied.

"We'll be able to do that. By the way Alpha, the RPM Power Rangers want you to know that they appreciate the work which you did on their morphers. Tommy out," Tommy replied with a smile as he ended the communication. He turned to everyone. "We'll need to wait ten minutes at the very most before we can escape. Until then, we've got to keep the Corinth Defence Force occupied."

"That's not a problem but we had better morph to make sure that we have the advantage," Scott agreed as each RPM Power Ranger fetched their engine cells. "Ready?"

"Ready!" The RPM Power Rangers replied unanimously. "RPM," they called as they inserted their engine cell into their morpher's compartment and shut it again, "Get in Gear!"

They morphed. RJ smiled.

"Tommy we're not going to let them have all the fun, are we?" he asked as he made another exaggerated gesture to him.

"Of course not," Tommy replied as he shook his head. "Ready?"

"Ready," RJ replied as he put his hand to his morpher. Tommy pulled the Tiger Power Coin from his pocket.

"Ready," Tommy agreed as he held out his morpher in the customary stance. "Tigerzord!"

"Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!" RJ said as he began the stances that allowed him to morph into the Wolf Ranger. Tommy morphed first and, almost as soon as he had morphed, Saba began to get excited and waved through the air.

"At last, at last, at last! You're back!" Saba exclaimed. "Although you were very, very annoying, you were the best company that I've ever had! Just when things got interesting, you had to lose your powers! Did you even think about me? I ended up having to spending nearly fifteen years waiting in stasis for someone to claim me again, you know."

The RPM Power Rangers had to duck to avoid being injured by the excitable saber as it waved through the air again. After a few moments, Tommy shook his head before he grasped firmly onto the hilt of the saber.

"It has indeed been a long time, Saba. Take it easy, though, my friend," Tommy replied.

"So who are we fighting now? Is it Rita or Zedd or someone new?" Saba asked.

"Actually, we're fighting quite a great deal of villains but I'll fill you in later, though, as now isn't a good time," he replied again as everyone stared at them.

"This is Saba. He's an enchanted saber Zordon entrusted me with. He's a bit excitable, and a bit annoying at times, but he is an expert on myths and legends. Without him, I wouldn't have control over my Tigerzord," Tommy explained quickly.

"They're over here!" someone shouted in the corridor.

"Tenaya, Dr K., stand back and let us handle this," Scott said as the RPM Power Rangers stood ready for battle.

"Should we show the newbies how it should be done?" RJ smiled.

"They're going to need a crash course in a few things." Tommy agreed. "Remember the fact that we're only trying to scare away the security officers. We don't want to injure them too seriously."

"Do you wish to learn a few of my tricks, Tommy?" RJ asked with a smile. "If you really want, I can teach you to unleash your animal spirit."

"What is my spirit anyway? I've been so many Rangers now that I often wonder: which one is me?" Tommy asked.

"You're close to the white tiger but it's really the Falcon that rests within you. However, I think that you've known about your spirit since earlier when you charged up the Falconzord using your life force," RJ replied.

"Guys, this debate can wait until later. We've got company," Scott interrupted.

Two security officers were now standing in the doorway but, before they could attack, Tommy reacted first.

"Let's hope blind faith works," Tommy muttered as Saba started quivering in his hands. He powered down and secured Saba to his belt as he began to move through the Falcon stances. "Call to the spirit within, fly my Falcon!"

He moved into the last stance associated with the Falcon with his palms spread wide. Unexpectedly, a white and gold Falcon burst forth from his hands and charged at the security officers. The security officers fled in terror although the Falcon didn't pursue them. RJ had a wide smile on his face and it was clear that he was impressed by Tommy's display of raw talent.

"You're an absolute natural, Tommy," he complemented. Tommy smiled.

"A few of your tricks have brushed off on me because I'm a quick study. However, I've still got a long way to go as far as learning the Pai Zhua techniques goes," Tommy replied.

"You're more knowledgeable in the ways of Pai Zhua than you give yourself credit, Tommy," RJ countered.

At that moment, things descended into confusion again as an entire team from the Corinth Defence Force rushed into the room.

Within seconds, Tommy had vanished and the Rangers were locked in combat with the security officers. Tommy made quick work of as many security officers as possible whilst he was invisible and managed to protect Dr K. at the same time. However, another two teams rushed in once they had taken out the first team. This time the Power Rangers knew that they were outnumbered three to one so they backed away from the new arrivals instead of trying to fight them.

"Let's even the odds," RJ said as he moved into the Wolf stances. "Call to the spirit within, unleash the Wolf!"

The Wolf spirit leapt up from his hands and attacked instantly but only scared off enough of the security officers to reduce the odds to two to one. Tommy activated his communicator as he knew that they would have no chance against these security officers in battle.

"Alpha, now would be a really good time to get us out of here," Tommy warned as the security guards began to advance and everyone moved back again.

"The adjustments have been completed. Prepare for teleportation," Alpha replied.

"Guys, we're leaving," Tommy smiled as he reappeared and put one arm around Dr K. "Dillon hold onto Tenaya and prepare yourself for an interesting ride."

Dillon nodded as he put one arm around Tenaya 15's waist in response. RJ smiled.

"As much as I would like to continue this to see how we fare against these overwhelming odds, we're needed elsewhere," RJ said. "Tell your Colonel that we'll be coming to pay him a visit soon enough."

As the security officers made their move, the Power Rangers vanished in a flash of coloured light corresponding to their colour of suit whilst Dr K. and Tenaya vanished in grey light. The security officers were stunned for a few seconds before they realised that the RPM Power Rangers had escaped and that Colonel Truman wasn't going to be happy with them.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, very early in the morning_

They reappeared in the Brachiozord Command Centre in a heap that only Tommy and Dr K. escaped from just as the Brachiozord landed in the sand at the other side of the dome. It then proceeded to transform back to its normal form as everyone quickly noticed that they had powered down during transport.

"I'm sorry Rangers. Due to the complexities of teleporting you here whilst the Brachiozord in motion, I couldn't compensate for the inevitable convergence of teleportation streams in time," Alpha apologised as he turned to them. "Welcome to the Brachiozord Command Centre."

Tommy shook his head as he got up and helped Dr K. to her feet. The heap slowly began to dismantle and it was soon revealed that RJ had been unfortunate enough to be stuck at the centre of it.

"Where's Zordon?" Tommy asked as he looked around. Almost instantly, he had noticed that Zordon wasn't sitting on the main command chair and, knowing what he did about the sage, Tommy was concerned to say the least. Alpha looked away from Tommy instantly.

"Zordon is asleep," Alpha lied quickly but Tommy wasn't convinced at all by Alpha's lie. The robot was hiding something. Tommy could sense it.

"Alpha, are you trying to hide something?" Tommy asked finally as he glared at Alpha 5 in an attempt to intimidate him to reveal the truth. Alpha gulped but, before he could reply to Tommy's question, the RPM Power Rangers started to ask several questions at the same time.

"I... I..." Alpha began. The questions caught him in an infinite loop so he began shaking within seconds. Tommy sighed. "Circuitry overload. Attempting to compensate..."

Smoke burst out of Alpha's forehead and Tommy calmly went to him. He tapped him gently enough to release all of the smoke from Alpha's circuitry boards so that Alpha could compensate for the damage the overload would have caused to his circuitry. Dr K. looked at Alpha curiously.

"Sorry, I forgot to warn you that you can never ask Alpha too many questions at once. It fries his circuitry," Tommy said grimly. "He attempts to process them all at once and his systems overload. He's a robot after all."

Tommy paused for a moment as an important realisation came to him.

"Oh dear, I guess that I'm going to have to attempt to replace Alpha's damaged circuits because Billy isn't here. To be honest, though, I've never attempted such complex circuitry work before. Don't get me wrong, I know the processes to go through in theory but to actually implement it in practice is a different thing entirely. It's going to be quite a challenge so I don't know if I should risk it or not," Tommy replied with a groan.

"Then it's a good thing that I'm here with you now so that you don't have to take that risk, isn't it?" Billy replied with a smile as he revealed that he was standing by the door to the corridor.

"Billy, man, it's good to see you," Tommy exclaimed as they embraced fondly. "You've not changed a bit since you left us."

"You've changed, though. I never expected you to be good with machinery," Billy replied. "This Brachiozord is a work of mechanical art."

"Thank you, Billy. To be honest, though, I owe my expertise to Hayley as I learned much from her whilst we worked together to build this Zord," Tommy replied as Cestria came in with a shy smile on her face.

"You're as beautiful as Billy described you to be, Cestria," Tommy said formally as he greeted her fondly. Then, he kissed her hand. "It's an honour to meet my friend's wife in person at last."

She hugged him. "The honour, I think, will be mine. You're a legend amongst the Aquitians, Tommy Oliver, and my brother Cestro often spoke highly of you and the other Power Rangers. Although, of course, you and your Ranger team were stuck as children when you first met him," Cestria replied.

Tommy coughed as everyone turned to him for an explanation. He felt Cestria subtly probe the edges of his mind so he quickly threw up his defences to protect his innermost thoughts.

"That's a story for another time and place," he replied with slight embarrassment as he leaned in to whisper to Cestria. "Your heritage doesn't show. To be honest, if I didn't know what you were, I would believe you to be completely human. And, for future reference, try not to use your telepathy on me as Billy taught me how to block it. I wouldn't want to leave you with a headache by forcing you out but there are some things that I've seen and done that others will never be able to understand. There are also some things that are private so I would betray those I know if I revealed them to you."

She nodded as he pulled away and smiled at her. "My humble apologies."

RJ looked puzzled. "What was that all about?" he asked. Tommy shrugged.

"It's nothing important," he assured. "You didn't take long in getting here, Billy. I'm quite surprised at how quickly you managed to arrive considering how far away you were."

"I would've been here sooner if I hadn't steered off course and crashed in the middle of nowhere. Then, of course, there was..." Billy began as Zordon entered.

"I think that it is best that you don't spoil the surprise, Billy," Zordon warned as he entered and stepped aside to reveal Kira, Trent and Anton. Tommy turned very pale.

"Hey Dr O., did you miss us?" Trent smiled. He was supporting Kira slightly as they entered.

Everyone had cleaned up. They were now wearing the clothing Zordon had provided them with and they had happy smiles on their faces. Kira was in an outfit that was much like what Tommy remembered her to enjoy wearing whilst she had been his student long ago. She was wearing a yellow top, green cardigan and jeans. Trent wore a white top and blue jeans while his father wore the same.

"I..." Tommy began but, before he could say anything, Billy pushed him forward to meet them. Seconds later, both Kira and Trent ran over and threw their arms around his neck as they hugged him tightly. Although they wouldn't admit it openly, Tommy Oliver had been like a second father to them so they were glad to see that he was actually alive. He held them close as he took in a deep breath.

His relief that they were all right was at the forefront of his mind at that moment and this was reflected in his overjoyed expression.

"Trent, Kira, I'm glad to see you," Tommy admitted quietly to them.

"Does anyone have any idea what is going on here?" Ziggy asked.

"I'll explain later," Billy promised them.

After a few seconds, it was Anton's turn. Both Trent and Kira moved out of the way as Tommy and Anton faced each other. For a moment, neither moved as they stared at each other waiting for the other to make the first move.

Seconds later, Anton landed a powerful punch on Tommy's face which dislocated his jaw and left him clutching it as he grimaced.

"What was that for?" Tommy demanded. His voice was distorted because of the dislocated jaw so he didn't sound like he normally did at all.

"That was for making me believe that my best friend was dead for the last two years. It was also for not including me in your project to rebuild the Zords," Anton replied as he suddenly grinned. "It's good to see you, Tommy. Sorry about your jaw."

They embraced and Tommy nodded.

"It's good to see you too, Anton. Now that I think about it, I probably deserved that punch," he said after a moment before he turned to Zordon. "Zordon, could you..."

"Of course, hold still," Zordon replied as he used his staff to fix Tommy's jaw. Tommy winced heavily as it healed before he turned back to Anton.

"Thanks. If anything will remind me that I should never forget the lesson which I have learned today, that I should keep my friends close, then the pain of having my jaw dislocated will," Tommy assured. "Now, I believe that this is the part where you tell me everything about happened to you."

And so they told him of how the Grinders had caught them unaware, captured them and made them work in the labour camps for the past two years. They also told him that Hayley had been with them and that she had probably been somewhere else in the camp when Zeltrax had attacked it. At the mention of the evil warrior, who had once long ago been Terrence "Smitty" Smith, Tommy growled angrily with unconcealed fury.

"If he and I ever cross paths again, I will not hesitate in destroying him. He has done some terrible things to innocents in pursuit of revenge against me and I won't let him harm anyone else if I can help it. I swear to you now that I'll make him regret ever crossing my path," Tommy replied.

"Tommy, anger and revenge are not the answer," Billy warned after he had recovered from the shock of hearing Tommy say those things. Of all the people in the Command Centre, Billy had not expected _Tommy _to freely allow rage affect his judgement. After all, he had often displayed a degree of emotional control, even when he was absolutely furious as he was at this moment, before now.

_What has changed Tommy so much that he isn't controlling his anger so much? _Billy thought silently to himself.

"Zeltrax has done some terrible things, Billy. He won't be merciful towards any of us anyway. All he will be after is revenge against me so, if I don't destroy him as soon as I get a chance, he'll almost certainly destroy me or someone that I care about," Tommy replied coldly as the Brachiozord started growling and the Command Centre started shaking in response to Tommy's fury. As soon as the Brachiozord reacted, he calmed instantly as he knew the dangers that anger could land him in. He took up his Brachio Morpher and sighed as he set it to communicate with the intelligent Zord itself.

"Easy boy. Everything is all right," Tommy said soothingly. The Brachiozord calmed instantly at Tommy's voice. Tommy waited for a moment as silence descended throughout the Brachiozord before he smiled.

"That Zord is very intelligent, Tommy. It's a beautiful piece of machinery," Billy said. It was clear that he was in awe of the Brachiozord's capabilities as his eyes were wide. He looked like a little kid in a candy shop and Tommy secretly found his expression somewhat amusing but he hid his amusement well.

"Yes, it's amazing," Dr K. agreed. "It's like what I did with my Zords except that I used animal DNA not dinosaur DNA."

Tommy nodded. "Not quite. Your Zords aren't sentient beings either, Dr K.. The Brachiozord can think for itself and it's very intelligent too," Tommy replied. "More intelligent than the first version was that is."

Billy remembered the wrist communicator and reached into his pocket to take it out. "Whilst I remember, this belongs to you," he said as he handed over the communicator to Tommy who was overjoyed to have it back.

"My communicator! I knew that I had left something behind. At least now, I won't need Alpha to teleport me in and out of here in emergencies," Tommy replied as he attached it to his wrist. "Thanks Billy, I owe you something."

He then remembered several things at once at that moment.

"Whilst I remember, Alpha, please show the RPM Power Rangers, Dr K. and Tenaya 15 to the RPM base. It's best that they stay here in the Brachiozord until I get a chance to smooth things over with Colonel Truman," he said as he turned to the RPM Power Rangers to address them directly. "I modelled it a great deal upon your Command Centre so I hope that it will be adequate for you."

He paused for a moment.

"Alpha could you then go down to the General Storage Bay and bring back the silver box sitting in there to me?" Tommy asked. Alpha nodded.

"It is a good idea, Tommy," Zordon agreed. "Everyone will have had a long day, the RPM Power Rangers especially, so full introductions can wait until the morning when we discuss our battle plans. Until then, I wish you good night."

"Now, I can assure you that I was most impressed by your part of the Brachiozord Command Centre. It's highly technologically advanced and very homely..." Alpha said to the RPM Rangers, and non-Rangers, as he gestured for them to follow him.

"And me?" RJ asked.

"There's a spacious room for you too, RJ. It was modelled a great deal on the loft from the original Jungle Karma Pizza restaurant. I'll show it to you soon but, before you get some rest, I want you to witness something," Tommy replied. They waited a few minutes before Alpha returned carrying the silver box that Tommy had requested.

"The RPM Power Rangers want you to know that their lodgings are "cool" and "better than home". They are really appreciative of what you gave them," Alpha replied. "Dr K. was also appreciative of the fact that there was a massive lab available for her to use as well too. I promised her that I would show it to her in the morning. She started to get all emotional about it before I left."

Tommy smiled as he took the box from Alpha. He then looked to Zordon with concern.

"Your concern is admirable, Tommy, but it is not necessary. I still have enough strength to go through with this ceremony tonight. It is too important to wait until the morning," Zordon replied with a warm smile before Tommy voice his concern.

Tommy nodded before he opened the case. He took out the White and Yellow Dino Gems and passed the box back to Alpha after he had secured it shut with the other two Dino Gems still inside it.

"Are those..." Kira began. "But they're powerless now! You can't..."

"They won't be powerless for much longer," RJ replied. "Zordon is about to re-energize them."

"Tommy is this wise?" Anton asked instantly.

"There is no other alternative, Anton Mercer. All of the Power Rangers to have ever existed will be needed to combat the threat of the all the evils to have ever existed. And, before you ask, Mesogog was not the worst of the evils by any means," Zordon replied. Tommy nodded.

"Personally, I think that King Mondo and the Machine Empire, purely because of the vastness of their army, are closest to the worst of the evils. To be honest, though, others such as Dark Specter, Lothar and Octomus, the Master, do come very close to being worse than Mondo and his goons because of other reasons," Tommy replied quietly. "Mondo and all of the Machine Empire generals will have probably returned home so we'll have some time to get rid of more of the other villains before they come back with an army but, if we're not ready by then, we'll probably be destroyed."

Zordon looked at Tommy sadly. _And you will likely be the one in control of the outcome of that war, Tommy. You know not what you are, or what you are destined to become, but I know. You and I are alike so I have to slowly prepare you for what you must do to prevent evil from destroying the world. It will be a dangerous path, which will change you forever if it has not changed already, but I know that you can do it because you cannot be the greatest Ranger to ever live without a good reason. _

"Tommy, the gems," Zordon said commandingly as he snapped out of his thoughts. Tommy nodded and held them out to Zordon in his outstretched palms. Then, Zordon closed his eyes and he re-energized the gems. Seconds later, they transformed into the Yellow Dino Morpher and the Drago Morpher as Zordon stumbled back and tripped over his own foot. He was exhausted by the effort to restore the Gems to their fully energized states.

"Zordon!" Alpha exclaimed as RJ caught him.

"I've got you, Zordon," RJ assured.

"Zordon, you must rest. You are not trapped in an energy tube any more so you need your rest just like the rest of us," Tommy begged. "Alpha, please show Zordon to my room upstairs so that he can rest there whilst I'll go camp out on the sofa in the RPM base."

Alpha nodded and escorted Zordon away. Although Zordon did protest at this, he was ignored by the robot. With Zordon gone, it fell to Tommy to hand over the morphers.

"These have always belonged to you. Although I did repair their circuitry, and improve them a little, they would still be useless if it weren't for Zordon," he said as he held the morphers out to them. "Know that you don't have to take them, Kira, Trent, if you don't want to be a part of the dangerous lifestyle that we were part of long ago. I'll understand completely if you don't. I tried the whole normal life thing which didn't work for me but it can still work for you if you wish it to.."

"We know the risks, Dr O., and, as you liked to say often, the right choice is never the easiest to make," Trent smiled as he looked to Kira. She nodded in agreement with him.

"We'll become the Dino Rangers again for Ethan and Conner, Dr O.," Kira said calmly. "We want to find them as much as you do, Dr O."

They took the morphers and attached them to their wrists at that moment. Tommy nodded.

"Nothing makes me prouder of you than this moment. You've displayed an incredible amount of maturity and proven that you've both learned the greatest lesson of the Power Rangers," Tommy said as he glanced to Billy. Billy smiled back and nodded in agreement. "What is right, isn't necessarily the easiest choice or path to take."

Tommy paused for a moment as a smile swept over his face.

"Before you get some rest, there's something that you must see first. I think that it might just put a smile on you face," he said as he changed the subject.

"What is it?" Kira asked curiously.

"You'll see," Tommy replied cryptically. "Come on."

He left the main Command Centre at that moment with all of them following in close pursuit.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, in the corridor outside the Biozord hangar, very early in the morning_

"So, exactly where are we going, Dr O.?" Trent asked as Tommy finally stopped outside one of the many doors in a particularly long corridor.

"You'll find out in a moment, Trent," Tommy replied. "You'll like this surprise."

After he had finished speaking, he held his Brachio Morpher up to a scanner by the door to unlock it. Kira was awestruck as she saw the Pterazord and the Dragozord hanging from the ceiling as soon as the door slid open. As she and Trent rushed in and hesitantly approached their Zords, the Zords reacted to their presence by waking again. Nearby, all the other Zords remained deactivated.

"Wow, Dr O., you and Hayley rebuilt all the Zords to the way they were before!" Trent said as he turned to Tommy with a big smile upon his face. Tommy nodded.

"We did," Tommy replied. "We knew that they would be needed once again so we decided to rebuild them. Although I must admit that I did most of the work, Hayley was a great help when we were just getting started. If she hadn't taught me everything she knew, both the Zords and myself would not be here right now."

Anton yawned at that moment whilst Kira and Trent were hesitantly looking on in awe at the Zords.

"Perhaps it would be best if we get some rest now. I don't know about you two but I long to sleep on a nice soft bed again," he suggested.

Tommy smiled. "Just take that lift over there. It will take you up to the Dino Thunder base and you can have my bed up there, Anton, because I've got several places where I can get some sleep tonight," he said calmly.

"Aren't you coming with us?" Kira asked. Tommy shook his head.

"No, I'm not," he said sorrowfully. "I must show Billy and Cestria to their room and RJ to his. Goodnight."

Tommy left them at that moment with RJ, Cestria and Billy at his side.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, in the corridor outside the Original base, very early in the morning, several minutes later_

"... so they're some of your students. I must admit they've turned out rather well," RJ replied as the four of them walked down another corridor.

"And they look up to you as a role model, Tommy," Billy added. "You should be proud of your teaching skills."

"No, I'm proud of my students and not my teaching skills. It's the fact that they've learned how to be a better person from me themselves that I'm proud of," Tommy replied as they reached the Original Power Rangers base. He opened the door for Billy and Cestria.

"Rest well. There will be a great deal of work to do tomorrow and much of it is likely to be the foundations for Zord building. I also intend to bully Colonel Truman into listening to me so that I can get all the materials we need off him. Even if it means that we've got to raid the Cartels ourselves, I intend to start rebuilding Zords as soon as possible," Tommy assured. "Billy, I'm going to need you to give Dr K. a quick lesson on how to work the computer system and to help Alpha upstairs where you can tomorrow. See you both in the morning."

Tommy then left them with RJ at his side.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, in the corridor outside the Jungle Fury base, very early in the morning, several minutes later_

"You know, you've really got a very colourful mix of friends, Tommy. You have to be a rare person indeed if you can inspire all of them into putting aside any differences that easily by believing in you," RJ commented as they walked.

Tommy smiled at this. "I learned those traits from my friends, RJ," he said simply.

They reached the Jungle Fury base at that moment. Inside, was an exact replica of RJ's loft plus a sleeping area that really felt like a jungle because of the fern leaves that allowed for privacy that surrounded the beds. RJ smiled as he entered and took a look around.

"What can I say?" RJ said as he was lost for words. He made another exaggerated gesture. "It's just perfect for me because it reminds me of my home already."

Tommy smiled. "When I built this place, that was my intention. I hope that you'll enjoy it a great deal but I can't stay as I've to go get some rest before morning as well. Goodnight, RJ. See you in the morning," he replied as he closed the door.

_Let's hope that the RPM Power Rangers don't mind me crashing in their base tonight... _Tommy thought as he set off for the nearest base to get some rest.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, RPM base, very early in the morning, several minutes later_

As Tommy entered the RPM base, only Dillon was still awake. He was, though, heading upstairs to get some sleep.

"Do you mind if I bunk here tonight? It's just that I've got no other place to go to and..." Tommy began as Dillon noticed him.

"Sure," Dillon replied with a shrug. "The sofa is all yours. I was just about to go get some rest anyway. Nice idea for this place by the way. I think that you got the balance right for everyone because even Dr K. likes it. And she is exceptionally hard to please."

Tommy smiled. "Whether the Brachiozord appeals to all of the Rangers or not, it will remain to be seen."

'Have a good night's sleep, Tommy. Thanks for helping me rescue my friends and for fixing the Zords," Dillon said politely. Tommy nodded. He knew that to get any compliments or thanks out of Dillon was not to be taken lightly as it showed that Dillon liked the person in question.

"I couldn't just leave them there as they're Power Rangers as well. Us Power Rangers have got to stick together, you know," Tommy replied with a smile.

Dillon nodded in reply to this and, without saying anything else, he climbed the stairs to bed. After a moment, Tommy made his way to the sofa and lay down. As he lay there, he closed his eyes and sighed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day and little did he realise, at that very moment, that he would be reunited with someone whom he should never have left behind.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, very early in the morning, at that very moment_

He was upon her before she, or her friends, could react. He had been waiting nearby for the perfect moment during which their guard was down so that he could snatch her away from them. That moment had come when her friends had turned their backs on her as they worked endlessly in the labour camp by the coast.

She had cried out, she had struggled and she tried desperately in any way possible to break free of his grip. However, none of these things had made any difference as he was just too strong for her. Before her friends, who rushed over to help her instantly as soon as they heard her cry out, could get to her, he took her and vanished in a flash of eerie green light.

"No!" The leader of the group of friends cried out. It was, however, too late. She was gone.

At that moment, things descended into anarchy in the labour camp as the Grinders, upon hearing his shout, opened fire at random to stop what they thought was a mass escape attempt. The three friends had fallen to the ground instantly to avoid being shot at by the Grinders because the Grinders believed them to be the source of the escape attempt.

After a few seconds the shock of the kidnap of their friend set in as they lay there, it took them another few minutes before they finally snapped out of it and got back onto their feet again.

She was gone. They knew that. They also knew that they couldn't afford to let themselves be killed as well so, hidden amongst the general confusion, they fled the labour camp into the vast dangerous desert. They hoped as they took flight, with all their heart, that someone, somewhere, would manage to rescue her from the villain before it was too late.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ninjazord Hangar, very early in the morning, at that very moment_

The eyes of the Falconzord began to glow gold. Something had just happened which the Falconzord could sense that its master would need to know about. The channelling of the Powers from the Falcon Power Coin, from Tommy, to the Falconzord had altered it so substantially that it was even more advanced now than the Brachiozord it was being stored in.

Of course, it couldn't alert anyone other than its master of this substantial change just yet otherwise it would likely put many more people in danger. As Tommy began to dream, the Falconzord began to strengthen the telepathic bond between them so that he could know about what it now knew had happened.

The Falconzord hoped, though, that it wasn't already too late to warn its master.


	7. Dreams Part 1: The Falcon and The Crane

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Dreams Part 1: The Falcon and The Crane

_Dreamworld, Spirit Jungle_

Where am I? _I think as I look around. I suddenly become aware that I am flying high in the sky. I must have just fallen asleep and slipped straight into a dream but this is not like any dream I've ever dreamt before. Below me I can see an endless jungle with beautiful vivid trees which seem as old as time itself and are all as tall as skyscrapers. I pause for a moment. Then, I look myself over as I sigh because I find that I'm dreaming that I'm the Falconzord in the Spirit Jungle. A place that I've never even visited before._

This dreams seems odd. Something isn't quite right here. It's like this is more than just a simple dream... _I think as I continue to fly on._

_I fly over the smaller trees and weave through branches of the taller ones. After what seems like nothing but jungle around me forever, I finally begin to see a lake at the edge of my field of vision. As I grow closer to the lake, I can see a small pink dot lying on the bank which instantly ignites my curiosity._

_As I grow closer, I notice that it's a badly injured Crane lying there. I can tell that it's very ill because of the fact that its feathers are not a luminous shade of pink, which is what they should be, but are actually a very, very pale pink instead. This fact doesn't seem quite right to me and my Ranger instincts instantly kick in. I fear the worst. _

_As soon as I get even closer to the Crane, it barely lifts its head to see me coming towards it. It is at that moment that it calls my name once it recognises me._

_The voice which calls to me is one that I recognise instantly. No one could ever forget that kind sweet voice. Especially not me because I had long ago been in love with it and its owner. Even now, I am still hopelessly in love with it and a part of me will never stop thinking about her, even if I don't ever voice my thoughts, because she meant so much to me._

Kimberly. _I think as I worry instantly about her sickly appearance. I know now that this dream is more than just a dream just like I had suspected originally. Someone, somewhere, is trying to tell me something rather important._

"_Kimberly!" I call hesitantly to her._

"_Tommy! Help me..." she calls in reply as her head sinks down onto the mud because she has so little strength left. I fly swiftly towards her in an attempt to go to her side but, as I get closer to her, waves of black water sweep her away into the lake._

"_Tommy!" she cries frantically as she struggles against the waves. I try to go to her, whilst calling her name repeatedly as I do so, but the waves beat me back._

"_Stop Tommy! It's no use trying to reach me as you'll only get caught by the waves as well," she calls as she gives up struggling against the waves and allows them to carry her away from me._

"_No! I promise you that I am not going to give up. Despite the risks, I'll get you out of there, Kimberly," I reply as I redouble my efforts to try to get to her._

"_Tommy! You aren't going to reach me in time. Just stop!" she cries._

_At that moment, another stronger wave sweeps her even further away from me. I know now that I won't be able to catch her as whoever gave me this dream clearly doesn't want me to._

"_I promise you that I'll find you Kimberly. No matter where you are, I'll find you!" I call as the dream begins to fade._

"_I know!" she replies faintly as the dream vanishes in a flash of white light._

_Brachiozord Command Centre, RPM base, dawn_

"... Tommy, wake up!" a voice called to him. Tommy instantly recognised that voice as he stirred. Dillon.

At that same moment, Tommy also became completely aware of his surroundings. He heard one of the Brachiozord's many alarm systems going off. Then, he heard the growls of the actual Brachiozord as well which were causing the entire base trembling violently every few seconds. Eventually, Tommy groaned and opened his eyes to find that Dillon was hanging over him with a concerned look on his face.

"Are you all right, Tommy? You were having a nightmare and you kept calling out for this girl, Kimberly, as if you couldn't reach her. What happened?" Dillon asked quietly.

"It wasn't important, Dillon. It was just another nightmare," Tommy lied as he decided to quickly change the subject from his nightmare to something else. "What's happening?"

"I've got absolutely no idea, Tommy. The Brachiozord woke us all up with its growling. The others left without me, as I stayed behind to wake you, and have probably made their way up to the main Command Centre already to find out about what is causing this racket. We should go join them," Dillon replied as Tommy wiped the sweat from his forehead and sat up on the sofa. "Are you sure you are all right?"

Tommy nodded as he stood up. "Yes, I'm fine Dillon. We had better hurry up and get to the Command Centre before the others come looking for us," he lied.

He had kept his lie short as all the best lies were short and sweet otherwise they were usually found out. In reality, though, Tommy wasn't all right at all. His dream of Kimberly had disturbed him completely so he was worrying a great deal about her at that moment. He was also wondering where she was and what had happened to her to leave her in such a terrible state. Tommy did not, however, want to share his feelings and concern for Kimberly with Dillon hence he had lied to conceal the truth.

Together, without saying anything else to each other, they left the RPM base. Then, they headed upstairs to find out about what was upsetting the Brachiozord and setting all the alarms off. Little did they realise as they passed the Jungle Fury base that RJ was still asleep inside.

_Somewhere in a Dark Dimension, dawn, at that very moment_

The pale woman who lay on the stone in the centre of the dark dimension, surrounded by smoke, sorrow and despair, was badly injured and barely conscious. She was very ill because of how poorly her captor was treating her.

Her name was Kimberly Anne Hart and she too had shared Tommy's dream minutes ago. As she barely managed to turn her head away from her captor, a villain she had never expected to see again, she hoped desperately that Tommy would keep his promise and rescue her.

Her last thought as she lay there, whilst her eyelids suddenly became very heavy, was that she could not last in captivity much longer. Tommy had to find and rescue her soon before it was too late.


	8. Dreams Part 2: The Spirits of The Jungle

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Dreams Part 2: The Spirits of The Jungle

_Dreamworld, Spirit Jungle_

_I wander slowly through the jungle. It has been a long time since I have last dreamt of this place. The jungle resembles the actual Spirit Jungle but I know that it's not what it appears to be as it is merely a representation of the Spirit Realm that often manifests itself in my dreams when I worry about the fate of my friends. During my dreams here, I often see a tiger on the beach or a cheetah and a jaguar in the canyon nearby. Sometimes, if I am especially lucky, I might hear a rhino charging away nearby but I can never approach any of the animals before I wake up._

_As I reach a clearing in the jungle, I look up in response to a cry. I see the Falconzord fly overhead and cry out for a girl named Kimberly. This confuses me as I quickly recognise that the Falconzord cried out with Tommy's voice. _

Why am I here? Why is he a part of my dream? Who's Kimberly? _I wonder as I look around at my surroundings again. At that moment, I hear a faint rustle amongst the branches behind me and I turn to find out who is there. I am stunned to see an old Master enter the clearing that I never expected to see again._

"_Mao, what are you doing here?" I ask instantly. "And why am I here now?"_

_Master Mao smiles at me. "I am here because you are here. Come, I have something to show you which you must see," he replies cryptically to my question._

_Without saying anything else to me, he turns away and begins to walk through the jungle. I quickly follow after him until, finally, we come to the Rhino Nexus, or the Dreamworld interpretation of it, and he leads me up to the shrine at the top. Where the Rhino Steel Zord had once slumbered, a tall thin branch now grows. I look at its bark closely and see that it's inscribed with various drawings. At the very top, there is a Falcon and a Crane flying high in the sky. The Falcon glows a golden colour and that golden light illuminates the other inscriptions._

_Underneath the Falcon and the Crane, there are the scenes which have so frequently been a part of dreams that I instantly recognise them. The tiger on the beach and the cheetah and the jaguar in the canyon. _

_I turn to Master Mao. "What are these drawings? What do they mean?" I demand. He smiles._

"_You must see them to understand what must be done. Keep looking, RJ," Mao replies mysteriously._

_I know then that these drawings must also be important, as Mao wouldn't be so cryptic otherwise, so I keep looking at them. There are so many other images of various sizes but only the larger images draw my attention. The largest of the drawings is only slightly further below the Falcon and the Crane than the tiger, cheetah and jaguar. It depicts a rhino, with a mouse hiding behind its horn, charging through the jungle. It makes think of Dominic instantly and, when I turn to him, Mao seems to know what I am thinking._

"_There are many connections between all of the drawings, RJ, so keep looking," Mao commands. I nod, turn back and keep looking. Just below the rhino, I can see a genie cat and a dragon with a man on its back flying towards a massive dark shadow. I'm unable to think of any connections to that picture so I soon move on as the one underneath quickly catches my attention._

_A dog that is not a dog stands guard over a limping, injured wolf. Because of the fact that my spirit is the Wolf, I instantly think that the hurt wolf is me. Behind the wolf, I can barely make out a Falcon and a Lion to my great surprise. For a brief second, I think of Jarrod because of his lion spirit before I see that it can't possibly be him because the Lion is red, not black, and gold. _

_Finally, I can see the symbols of the elements of Air, Water, Earth and Thunder. They are all represented to be a segment of a circle, with the mark of the samurai in the centre between them all, and I recognise that circle to be the representation of the ninja elements. However, before I can study it in any closer detail, black cogs begin to form around each of the images. Startled by this, I turn to Mao._

"_Why must I see them to understand what must be done? Why are they important? What do they mean?" I ask. "And why am I here?"_

"_The spirits brought you here, RJ, as they want you to see these images to have an idea of what may be to come. They want you to be the messenger by relating what you have seen here to Zordon of Eltar and to Tommy Oliver. Why they chose you, I don't know for certain but what I can tell you is that what they are showing you is important to everything that will happen in the near future so I would pay very close attention to what you see here," Master Mao replies without being cryptic with his answers for once. _

_I nod before I begin to memorise all of the drawings so that I would be able to relate what I've seen here to Zordon and Tommy. As I begin to do this, I can sense that Mao is hiding something. This dream has been the only time that I've ever seen him standing there uncomfortably, with an odd expression on his face, in my lifetime. I turn back to confront him._

"_Are you absolutely sure that these images are everything I need to know?" I demand. Mao nods in reply. He is still rather uncomfortable as I glare at him so I decide to drop all pretences. "Come on Mao. You know that the Pai Zhua masters can't lie to other masters easily and you were the worst at lying out of all of us. What are you hiding from me?" _

_Mao sighs before he approaches me and whispers the secret in my ear. _

_I instantly refuse to believe what he has said. "He can't be..." I scoff. _

"_Oh_ _he is, RJ. You knew in your heart from the moment that you met him that he was different from anyone else that you had ever met. You can't deny what he is now that you know the truth," Mao replies._

_I fall quiet. In my heart, I know that Mao speaks the truth. A Pai Zhua Master does not need to think as he knows what is and what is not. He knows what must be done and when it must be done for. _

"_I can't deny it, Mao," I admit as I accept that Mao spoke the truth. Both of us fall silent. _

"_Because of what he is, doesn't that not mean..." I begin after several moments as I suddenly realise something else. Mao sighs._

"_Unfortunately, yes. He may not know what he is but Zordon of Eltar certainly does. I think that Zordon also knows what this will mean during this struggle. The outcome will hinge upon Tommy Oliver because of what he is. The powers which he possesses may still lie dormant within him but they are starting to awaken now one by one," Master Mao nods. He then looks up and points upwards. "Look up, RJ, so that you can see yet another sign of what may be to come."_

_I look up to see that the sun has turned red. I turn to Mao._

"_That doesn't look good," I reply. Mao nods._

"_It is not good at all. It will be the most important sign of all signs of what is to come, RJ. When the red sun rises, it will be a sign that everything will change in the universe forever," Mao agrees._

_The dream suddenly begins to fade around me. _

"_Remember, RJ. The red sun will be the final sign," he whispers. "I wish you luck."_

"_Remember..." he murmurs again just as the dream vanishes._

_Brachiozord Command Centre, Jungle Fury base, dawn_

RJ woke slightly confused to the utter confusion around him. He lay on the floor and, as it shook, various conflicting sounds reached his ears. The growling, the alarms, the shouting... RJ had to take a few seconds to take everything that was happening around him in and to adjust to what he had just learned. With all the noise, it was obvious to him that something was very wrong. RJ knew that there was only one place where he would find out about what was going on so he got up, groaned and checked his morpher. It wasn't on his wrist. Eventually, after searching for it for several minutes, he found that it had slipped off of his wrist and had landed on the floor nearby during the night. As soon as he picked it up, he secured it tightly back in place to make sure it would not come off again before he set off towards the Command Centre.

The dream was still at the forefront of RJ's mind. He knew that he had to talk to Zordon and Tommy about it as soon as he could. For now, though, getting to the Command Centre and sorting out whatever had gone wrong was RJ's first priority so he picked up the pace until he was literally running down the corridors on his way to the Command Centre. He only hoped that whatever had caused the alarm to go off wasn't too serious so that it could be resolved quickly as he knew that what he had dreamt was very, very important to everything that would soon occur...


	9. Chapter 6: Deep Connections

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 6: Deep Connections

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, dawn_

"Alpha, report," Zordon demanded. Seconds later, he was nearly thrown from the chair he was sitting in when the Brachiozord shook violently again. Alpha 5, who clung to the console, turned to Zordon to reply as the others rushed in to find out about what was happening.

"The disturbance appears to be coming from the Ninjazord hangar. The security cameras in the hangar are down so I can't bring up a visual on-screen but sensors indicate that there has been some damage to the hangar," Alpha 5 replied. "Everyone should hold on tightly to the console or to the railings on the wall as it's going to get very bumpy in here until the problem is fixed."

Tommy came in with Dillon and Billy at his heels at that moment. He was grim as Alpha 5 repeated to them what he had just said to everyone else.

"That doesn't sound good, Alpha," Tommy said as he grimaced.

"Tommy, take a team down there to find out about what the problem is and fix it," Zordon commanded.

Tommy nodded as he thought about who he would take. After thinking for a moment, he decided that a team of three people would be enough to deal with whatever was going wrong down there. He knew that he was going to take Billy for certain as Tommy knew that it could be a technical problem down there but he didn't know who else to take because there were so many people to choose from. In the end, he decided to take Dillon as he had shown himself to be useful and resourceful which were qualities that Tommy knew that he might need to fix whatever was going wrong in the Ninjazord hangar. Tommy had also begun to start trusting Dillon a little more than the others as well which was another reason why Tommy had chosen him.

"I'll take Billy and Dillon," Tommy said finally. The others protested instantly about the fact that they were going to be left out of the action but Tommy just smiled. "There will be other times for all of you. Besides, this is likely to be something trivial, such as a severe malfunction in one of the circuit boards, which shouldn't take us very long to fix."

"Alpha, please be on standby if we need your advice," Billy said.

Dillon sighed because he got stuck with some of the most boring jobs at times. As both Tommy and Billy left, he turned, with a shrug to his RPM team-mates, and followed them both as they made their way down to the hangar. The three of them hadn't gone very far down the corridors when they bumped into RJ, who was obviously heading up to the Command Centre, and stopped. He was rather pale due to the fact the memories of his dream were at the forefront of his mind at that moment.

"What's happening?" RJ asked.

"We've got no idea so we're going down to the source of the problem to find out. Alpha traced the problems to the Ninjazord hangar but it's likely to be something trivial, like a severe malfunction in a circuit board somewhere, or so these two believe," Dillon replied as he gestured to Tommy and Billy.

RJ wasn't so sure as he wondered if this was more than a coincidence considering the fact that the Falconzord was part of his dream. Tommy was now quiet as if a similar thought had just crossed his mind as well.

"Come with us, RJ, as we might need an extra pair of hands," Billy urged.

RJ nodded. "I'll come with you both but I'm not so sure that it isn't something major," he replied as the floor shook again. The growling was growing louder and the shaking more frequent as they continued to head down to the Ninjazord hangar. It was clear to all of them that something more than a mere circuit malfunction had occurred in the hangar. They knew that they had to fix the problem soon before the Brachiozord became uncontrollable and caused absolute havoc in Corinth City. As everything shook violently again, they picked up the pace as they didn't have much time left to sort the problem out.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ninjazord Hangar, dawn, several minutes later_

Once they had arrived outside the Ninjazord hangar, Tommy held up his Falcon Power Coin to the scanner by the door to unlock it. As the door slid open, they were instantly confronted by a rampaging Falconzord. Its eyes were glowing with a golden sheen to them and it was screeching loudly as it continued its rampage. The four of them instantly covered their ears to protect their hearing as it turned towards them and started screeching loudly at them.

_Billy was utterly wrong. It isn't a mere circuit board malfunction which is causing all the problems but the Falconzord instead. Wow, it appears to be acting like someone in a blind rage almost as if it can think for itself like the __Brachiozord __can. _Dillon thought as he watched the Falconzord.

RJ had a smug, I told you so, look upon his face which Billy found slightly annoying. Billy knew that he had gotten it wrong and that RJ's suspicions, that it was a more dangerous problem, had just been proven to be true but he didn't like the fact that RJ was rubbing it in. He said nothing though as all of their attention turned to Tommy, who held his Falcon Power Coin out in front of him, as he moved towards the Falconzord. It was clear to everyone that he was concentrating on communicating with the Falconzord and that he wasn't paying any attention to them as his eyes had a blank look in them.

"What is it? What are you trying to tell me?" Tommy asked as he began to sense the Falconzord's rage and the fact that it was trying to tell him something rather important. He could feel the deep connection between them both but it still wasn't stable enough so they were both having trouble communicating with each other. Tommy took a hesitant step forward and the Falconzord suddenly attacked without warning as it misunderstood his intentions. He only wanted to talk but the Falconzord thought that he and the other Power Rangers were going to attack and it didn't like that idea.

"Look out!" Billy exclaimed. Everyone scattered as the Falconzord attacked. It focused on a different person each time as it fired at them in a renewed bout of its rage. Tommy, however, managed to get out of its view by hiding behind stacks of crates which the Falconzord hadn't managed to knock over yet. However, minutes later, the Brachiozord shook wildly and Tommy was nearly trapped under them as they collapsed in on his hiding place. As soon as he barely escaped the crates, he came face to face with the Falconzord again.

"Tommy! Look out!" Billy exclaimed again in warning. The Falconzord screeched as Tommy, unafraid, took up his Falcon Power Coin again. Tommy knew that he only had one more chance so he made a final attempt to break through the communication barrier by stabilising the deep connection between them whilst he tried to communicate with it as he closed his eyes.

"What are you trying to tell me? You know something that you know I need to know so it has to be important. Everything will be all right once you tell me," Tommy reassured the Zord.

There was a few moments of silence. Then, Tommy knew that he had succeeded in his attempt to communicate with it as, at that moment, he was hit with a full vision of Kimberly lying on the stone in the middle of a dark dimension. That image filled him with anger as she was so pale, badly hurt and rather weak. He growled. The Kimberly lying there was a complete contrast to the image of a smiling, cheerful, kind and gentle Kimberly which always came to the forefront of his mind whenever he thought about her.

_Whoever has done this to her will pay greatly at my hands_. He vowed to himself. At that moment, his thoughts turned to his dream last night and he stiffened up because he realised that the Falconzord had been behind it. He opened his eyes again.

"You know where she is, don't you? You were the one who gave me that dream last night because you were aware of what had happened to her," Tommy said in realisation. The Falconzord regarded him with its golden eyes and nodded as Tommy hesitantly put his hand on its beak to calm it down with his reassuring touch. Whilst he stood there with one hand on its beak, he used his other hand to activate the Brachio Morpher as everything shook again.

"It's okay boy, the Falconzord has calmed down now," Tommy soothed. The shaking and the growling abruptly stopped after a few moments more. Then, Tommy turned to Billy who was standing by the control panel for the Ninjazord hangar. "Billy, hit that red button over there."

Billy, who was still rather stunned by what had happened, proceeded to hit the red button which opened the hangar door.

"Find a way into the dark dimension for me and come back when you've found one, or if you can't find any at all, nearby," Tommy commanded. "We'll get her back."

The Falconzord instantly flew off and Tommy followed it right to the edge of the hangar door so that he could watch it fly off into the distance with a sad smile. When the hangar doors began to shut automatically, Tommy got out of the way and turned back to assess the damage the Falconzord had done to the hangar. Many of the circuit panels were damaged and crates had been scattered across the hangar. He sighed before he activated his communicator on his Brachio Morpher.

"Trent, Kira, please ask all of the Power Rangers to come down here. We've got quite a mess down here that will need as many hands as possible to clear up quickly," Tommy commanded before he switched channels. "Alpha, I need to talk to you and Zordon alone. Please, could you send Dr K., Tenaya 15, Cestria and Anton Mercer down here to fix the circuit panels as well."

Billy looked up to Tommy as he snapped out of his shock. "Tommy..."

"Billy, come with me. I'll fill you in on the way up," Tommy commanded as he turned to Dillon and RJ. "Both of you can wait here. The circuit panels should be in the blue crates over there if Dr K. or Anton Mercer asks for them."

"Tommy, I need to talk with you and Zordon right away. It's important!" RJ burst out before Tommy left with a serious expression on his face. RJ had decided that he would use this moment to get Tommy almost alone and pass on his message. Tommy paused for a second as he glanced to Billy for advice before he nodded.

"Come with us, then, RJ," Tommy finally said before he smiled at Dillon. "You'll stay here, though, Dillon."

Dillon sighed as they left without another word. They had left the hard task of clearing up to him and the others but he could understand that they must have had some extremely important matters which they wanted to discuss at that moment. However, instead of being angry about being kept out the loop, he was accepting of the matter. He knew that everyone else would surely be told about the matters soon enough as Tommy couldn't afford to keep secrets from them.

Every Power Ranger knew that secrets had the potential to destroy them and leave the planet without any defences to protect itself from evil. At this moment in time, Dillon was sure that this would be the last thing that Tommy or anyone else would want to occur given the circumstances.

Dillon waited for another moment before he set to work tidying up the mess that the Falconzord had created. After tidying up a few crates, help arrived and, together, the Power Rangers set to work as a team to get the job done as fast as they possibly could.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, in the corridor outside the main Command Centre, late morning, several hours later_

The door was still locked. Tommy, Billy and RJ had been in a secret conference with Zordon for several hours and the Ninjazord hangar had been restored to its original state. The RPM Power Rangers, Tenaya 15 and Dr K. had gone back to the RPM base, citing the need to rest and relax as their reasons to go, as soon as they had finished the clean-up operation. Cestria had gone to make breakfast for everyone else down in the main kitchen alone.

As for Kira, Trent and Anton, they had decided to go see whether the conference was over or not as they had nothing better to do with themselves. Upon their arrival a few minutes ago, the door was still locked and any attempts to try to listen in to what was being said in the main Command Centre were quickly found to be impossible as the door was soundproof.

"I wonder what it is that they're discussing in there. Why is it taking them so long?" Anton mused as he paced up and down the corridor. "Whatever it is they're discussing, it must be important for them to go into a secret conference without involving everyone else."

"Knowing Dr O., it must be really important as he hates secrets. I just wish that they would hurry up in there so that they can tell us about it," Kira replied. It was clear to all of them that she was feeling better than she was yesterday as she could now stand unaided but she was still weak so she was leaning against the wall to save her strength.

Trent, who was also leaning against the wall at her side, shrugged. "He may not be able to tell us everything that they're discussing in there but he'll tell us something soon enough. Sometimes, there are things that are just too important to be general knowledge as they could have the potential to cause a massive amount of damage if evil found out about them."

"I still wish that they would hurry up, though," Kira replied impatiently.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late morning, at that very moment_

"... Are you all right, Tommy?" Zordon asked as he broke the stunned silence. Moments ago, he had been forced to confess the truth to Tommy about what he was. Zordon had not intended to confess until it was necessary but RJ had obviously been told by Master Mao so, if Zordon hadn't told Tommy, RJ would have. He felt that it was too early for Tommy to know but, because he had wanted Tommy to hear it from his lips to prevent Tommy feeling betrayed if he had found out any other way, Zordon hadn't any other choice.

"The Falconzord being a sentient being, with thoughts and feelings closely linked to mine, was one thing. RJ's dream was another thing but this revelation is a little too much. I just need a few minutes to take it all in," Tommy replied finally as he took a deep breath. It was clear to all present in the main Command Centre that he was still in shock because of what he had just been told as he had struggled to find words to express himself. He understood why the truth had been hidden from him in the first place, to protect him from evil, but it was such a big revelation that he was struggling to cope with it.

"Master Mao told me last night, Tommy. If Zordon hadn't just told you there, I would've told you as soon as I could," RJ replied quietly. "It was quite a shock for me to take in too. I couldn't quite believe that you... well, you know."

Tommy sighed as he realised the implications of what he was. "Everything is going to hinge on me in the end when the final battle comes, isn't it, Zordon?"

"Unfortunately, it may all hinge on you Tommy. Your powers may be needed to conquer evil in the end," Zordon replied.

Tommy turned to Billy as he sought advice from an old friend as he struggled to decide whether what he was could be a good thing or not. Billy smiled in reply.

"You have got these great gifts for a reason, Tommy. I've always known that you were special but, now, I know just how special you are. It's up to you how you use your powers when they blossom but, hopefully, your times as a Power Ranger will have taught you that you have to use them the right way. For the greater good of the people," Billy replied. "Trust in yourself for once, my friend. The short days of you being the evil Green Ranger are long gone. You've made up for them a hundred times or more since then with all the good deeds you've committed in the long days of being a Power Ranger allied with Zordon. We've forgiven you, Zordon has forgiven you but you haven't forgiven yourself for something which you had no control over and I know that you still believe you did. I also know that the fact that you came close to destroying us all during the evil Green Ranger days must haunt you often because of this reason."

Tommy looked away from them to hide his shame. Billy had pinpointed the exact problem which was now churning away in his head. When Tommy thought about his evil Green Ranger days, they often left him feeling guilty and upset because of his actions although he couldn't be responsible for them because he had been under Rita's control at the time. He often wished that those days had never occurred but, no matter what happened, he could never erase them as they defined him as a person. They proved that no one was perfect, not even the greatest Power Ranger to ever live, as everyone makes mistakes that they often regret for the rest of their lives. Tommy knew that his mistakes were also the foundations for all of his good memories with all of his friends, his family and his students which had occurred since those days so, in a strange way, the bad times had brought some good with them as well.

Billy, who had remained silent for a few seconds to allow Tommy time to consider his words, spoke again. "I hope that you understand now. You can't get rid of those days, nor were you completely responsible for them, but what you can do is stop feeling guilty and ashamed about the actions that Rita forced you into committing. They define you as a person and you would never have become the greatest Power Ranger to ever live without them as the foundations for your good work," he said.

Tommy nodded. "Thanks, Billy. You're right as usual," he smiled sadly. "So what do you want me to do, Zordon?"

"You must go on a quest to find that which was split and hidden, Tommy, just like I said earlier," Zordon replied. "Only you can complete that task but I will be on hand to help you wherever I can as I have always been."

Tommy nodded.

RJ smiled, "And I'll help you too, my friend, as the spirits wish me to aid you if they gave me that dream."

"And so will I wherever I can. You won't have to go through this alone, Tommy," Billy replied.

Tommy smiled. "Thanks but the others can't know about this for their own safety. We might have to tell Jason when we find him, as I want to keep my best friend as close as possible, but I'm not going to tell anyone else about this to protect them," he said. "Do the evil beings we face know what I am yet?"

"No, the evil beings do not have a clue about what you are yet. Eventually, though, one of the greater evil beings will recognise you for what you are and, mark my words, as soon as one evil being does, we will be in a great deal of trouble. He or she will quickly tell the others and, although they may never agree on anything else, they will agree about destroying you because you will be a great threat to them when your powers awaken," Zordon replied.

"Ai, Ai, Ai, they'll hunt you down Tommy. They'll pursue you throughout time, across worlds and over distances until they either destroy you or wrench your power away from you. There would never be anywhere that you could hide from them," Alpha, who had remained completely silent up until this point, exclaimed.

Tommy nodded.

"I understand," he said quietly after a moment. "So it is to be a secret until the appropriate time to reveal what I am to all?"

Zordon nodded. "Yes, it has got to be a secret for as long as possible to protect you from destruction."

There was silence for a few moments.

"We'll tell the others about everything else we've discussed, though?" Tommy asked finally. Zordon nodded.

"Yes. You have our word that none of us present in this room will reveal your secret without your permission, Tommy," Zordon replied as he turned to Alpha. "Alpha, open the doors and call everyone up here. It is time for our current battle plans to be discussed with the others."

Everyone nodded in unanimous agreement with Zordon's words as Alpha unlocked the door. He then activated the communications system built into the Brachiozord.

"The private conference is over. Zordon has requested that everyone is to report to the Command Centre immediately to be directed to the Ranger Planning Room," Alpha called.

"Alpha, remind me that we really need to create a communications device for the non-Rangers so that we don't have to use the internal communication system so much. The devices will have to have teleport functions and will have to also be able to get them past certain security barriers which they won't be able to get past right now. In the future, they may need to be able to get through the barriers in emergencies," Tommy said randomly as the idea popped into his head.

"I'll look into it, Tommy," Alpha promised. "However, I'll need materials that are not currently available to us which Colonel Truman might be able to help provide us with."

Tommy nodded. "Before I go for Kimberly, I'll deal with Colonel Truman because we're going to need unlimited access to materials and to Corinth City over the coming war. First, though, the others need to know about what is going on."

At that moment, all the Power Rangers burst in with the non-Rangers; Tenaya 15, Anton Mercer, Dr K. and a tired Cestria, who was carrying a massive tray covered with a cloth that obviously had breakfast on it, close behind them.

Instantly, a dozen questions were directed to Tommy at the same time. However, he just shook his head in reply to all of them.

"This is not the place to answer your questions. Alpha, open up the lift shaft," he commanded. Alpha nodded as Tommy moved away from the centre of the room and forced everyone to back up as he went. Seconds later, the centre of the floor disappeared to reveal the lift shaft.

"I'll send the lift up for those of you who can't make it down the shaft. As for myself, I like the occasional risk," Tommy replied with a smile as he dived into the shaft. In mid fall, he activated his Brachio Morpher. "Dino Thunder, power up! Ha!"

As soon as he had morphed, Tommy drew his Brachio Staff. He was about a minute away from hitting the ground so he didn't have a long time to act before he seriously hurt himself.

"Brachio Staff, wind strike!" he said as he quickly changed it to the wind strike mode and pointed it down to create a cushion of air to lower himself down to the ground. When he finally reached the bottom, he looked up to see that Kira had dared to follow him, in Super Dino Mode, and was using the wings of her suit to glide down to safety.

Tommy smiled and helped her down by cushioning her landing with another well aimed wind strike. Seconds later, Ziggy also appeared at their side but he wasn't quite inside the Ranger Planning Room.

"The others don't want to risk the fall and they think that you're both mad. By the way nice suit, Kira," Ziggy said as he admired Kira. Kira looked to Dr O., who nodded as if he knew what she was wanting to say, and he calmly pushed Ziggy into the Ranger Planning Room. As soon as he entered, he was automatically morphed into his Ranger form. Ziggy was surprised by this.

"It's the Ranger Planning Room. It has a field which is generated to force Power Rangers to morph as they enter and it powers them down on exit," Tommy replied. Kira instantly started giggling about Ziggy's uniform. Ziggy unbuckled his helmet, took it off and looked at Kira oddly.

"What?" he demanded as he gestured wildly. Kira unbuckled her helmet, took it off and shook her head in reply.

"You look a little silly," she laughed as Tommy set the controls for the lift. The lift platform instantly went up the shaft as Tommy took a seat at the head of the table, beneath several white leather chairs at the top of the room which stretched from one end to the other, in a chair with multiple emblems upon it. He was instantly powered down as he did so and was then morphed into the White Power Ranger. As soon as that happened, he took off his helmet and put it at the side of his chair.

"Take a seat. The lift can only hold two people at a time so we will be waiting for a while," Tommy said with a gesture to Kira and Ziggy.

"But where?" Kira asked.

"The chairs are all marked with the emblem of the team of Power Rangers that each individual Ranger was on. You'll know where to sit," Tommy explained.

Ziggy found his chair first and, because he was a member of the latest team of Power Rangers, the RPM Power Rangers, his chair was at the bottom of the table. It had a green wheel emblem recently sewn onto it and, as Ziggy sat down, a screen in front of Tommy's chair popped up.

"Identity confirmed, Green RPM Power Ranger, Ziggy Grover," a voice chirped.

Ziggy jumped in fright and Tommy shook his head.

"It's just an identity scan. It protects us against evil clones, evil Power Rangers and any one who shouldn't really be here," he reassured. "Which reminds me that Anton..."

Kira sat down in her chair and copied Dr O.'s gesture of putting her helmet aside. The voice chirped again but Tommy ignored it. They had to wait a while before everyone finally managed to get into the room and had taken a seat in their own chair. Anton and Cestria came down on the lift platform last.

"Cestria, I would recommend that you don't sit down," Tommy said quickly. "And Anton, I would also recommend that you take this just to confuse the scanner as I don't want it thinking that you..."

Tommy tossed him a Power Coin and, as soon as Anton caught it, the system reacted by initiating a scan. Anton stood still for a second as it scanned him before he proceeded to sit in the grey chairs away from the main table at the bottom of the room.

"Do not let go of that Power Coin until you leave here, Anton Mercer," Zordon warned. "Unfortunately, traces of Mesogog's DNA still reside within you so the system will think that you are Mesogog in disguise. Even though that fact isn't true any more."

Anton nodded quietly as Zordon took his chair behind Tommy in the grandest of all the white chairs. The Rangers put their helmets aside whilst the computer confirmed their identities. They waited for Tommy to speak as it would signal the start of the meeting.

Once the computer was finished, Tommy sighed.

"There isn't easy way to tell you all this," Tommy began. "I'm quite angry about this development myself as it has disrupted all my plans. Fortunately, I was made aware of this before it's too late but..."

"Allow me, Tommy," Billy said as he interrupted him and he called up his own screen by pressing a button under the table in front of his chair. He called up a holographic image of the Falconzord in the centre of the table. "Firstly, we've just discovered that Tommy, inadvertently, brought the Falconzord to life when he channelled his powers through his Falcon Power Coin into it. It can now think for itself, feel for itself, as the mess it made during its rage earlier proves, act by itself and it also seems to be aware of things that we're not. This now brings me onto the disturbing development which has wrecked all of our previous plans."

He then called up another recent holographic image of Kimberly from two years ago. Her warm smile made Tommy feel desperate despair as he contrasted it to how she had looked in the vision that he had been given by the Falconzord and to how the Crane had looked in his dream.

"Look closely, this is our close friend Kimberly Anne Hart. Originally she was the first Pink Power Ranger and, now, as the Falconzord has made us aware of, she is being held prisoner in a dark dimension. Normally, we would've discredited this information from the Zord but something else happened last night which carried the exact same warning as the Falconzord gave us earlier. Hence, because of both of these warnings, we believe that she is in a great deal of trouble," Billy replied.

"And, now, we're going to have to find her and get her out of the dark dimension before it's too late. As far as I know, she won't last very much longer in whichever dimension whoever captured her is holding her in because she's very ill and badly injured so haste is required in our rescue attempt," Tommy added quietly. Then, he fell silent because he didn't really wanting to say anything else as he banished the image of a smiling, happy Kimberly from the table.

"We'll help you, Dr O.," Trent vowed.

Tommy smiled at their kind offer of help. "Thanks, Trent, Kira, but you can't come with me as the dark dimensions are numerous and extremely dangerous. It isn't easy to escape from them hence only Billy and I are going to go because he and I have had experience with Rita's dark dimensions before. Our experience will help to keep us alive long enough to find Kimberly and escape before it's too late. The Falconzord is currently searching for an opening which we can use to get into the dimensions and, if it returns without one, I'll cut a hole through this dimension into one of the other dimensions if I have to."

"That's risky, Tommy, as you know that you're no longer connected to..." Billy began.

"If it helps me save Kimberly, I'll do whatever it takes. All of the Original Power Rangers never gave up on me when I was almost forever lost to evil so I'll never give up on you," Tommy replied firmly as he looked down.

"But what about us?" Kira asked.

"You'll be staying here with RJ and the RPM Power Rangers," Tommy replied. "Corinth needs to be well defended in case evil comes back whilst Billy and I are gone. The RPM Power Rangers will need your help, which you'll be able to give them easily, to defend Corinth from evil. After all, you now have three Megazords at your disposal, RJ has one and they have four. That's eight powerful machines and, if it's really necessary, you'll be able to call upon some of my Zords to help you. I'll leave Saba in Anton's hands so that you can control the Tigerzord. Plus, Saba is rather helpful if you need any advice. However, you won't have access to the Dragonzord, as it is extremely dangerous, because I won't be leaving the Dragon Dagger behind. Alpha and Zordon will be here to help all of you as well."

At Tommy's belt, Saba began twitching apprehensively about being left behind.

"Are you really going to leave me behind?" Saba asked.

"Sorry, Saba, but I've got no other choice. I've got other ways to defend myself too. I trust Anton to only use you in an emergency," Tommy replied.

Anton looked to Tommy. "Do you really trust me that much, Tommy?" he asked.

"Yes, I do," Tommy replied. "Look at the Power Coin that I gave you."

Anton did. He was surprised to find that it was the Tiger Power Coin.

"But how are you still in your ranger form?" he asked.

Tommy revealed that the coin at his belt was actually the Falcon Power Coin.

"The Falcon Power Coin is also connected to this form. I want you to hang onto the Tiger Power Coin until I get back as well, Anton. If you really must, you can use the Power Coin but I would recommend that you don't even consider the idea unless it is an absolute emergency. If you do, and I'm in this form at that moment you morph, I'll be forcibly powered down which could leave me rather vulnerable in the dark dimension. However, I trust you Anton and I know that you'll have sense to use the Tiger Power Coin wisely whilst Billy and I are gone," Tommy replied.

"As well as that, many of the Zords also need to be rebuilt, mainly all of the oldest ones, so we'll need to start work on that front soon," Alpha added.

"All of the old ones? But I thought the Zeozords hadn't been destroyed!" Billy exclaimed.

"Unfortunately, they were destroyed during the Venjix invasion," Tommy replied with a grimace. "However, we've got enough materials to rebuild one more Zord now and I think that we should restore your Triceratops Dinozord first, Billy, before we consider rebuilding any of the other Zords. Alpha has enough knowledge to help Dr K. complete this task, as I'm very sure that she'll want to learn about the technology we used back then, and anyone else who is interested in rebuilding the Zords can help her."

"I'll help her, Tommy, and I can obviously ask to be teleported in if I'm needed to help the Power Rangers," Anton said. "It's the least that I can do to help."

Tommy nodded. "Thanks, Anton."

"Tommy, if I may make a point? How on earth will we be able to protect Corinth City with the Corinth Defence Force and Colonel Truman after us?" Scott asked.

Tommy smiled as Cestria looked to him. "Once breakfast is over, you, Trent and I will go pay your father Colonel Truman a visit. I want a solemn promise from him that he'll keep the Corinth Defence Force away from us whilst we're fighting evil, unless they're protecting innocents, so that we don't have to worry about their safety too. I also need his men to perform something more constructive, like freeing innocents from labour camps and getting rid of as many Grinders as possible, on our behalf."

Cestria handed out breakfast at that moment. It consisted of freshly baked bread and orange juice. When Tommy asked where she had gotten the ingredients from, she smiled.

"I configured a teleport earlier to borrow the orange juice from a convenience store somewhere in Corinth. Don't worry, no one saw me do it," she smiled reassuringly.

Billy smiled as he took up his glass.

"My first decent breakfast in many years," he declared as he then proceeded to quickly polish off the bread and orange juice. Tommy smiled as everyone else ate and talked amongst themselves because it had been a long time since he had been around a table with these many people sharing a meal. He had forgotten how good it felt to be around friends during those two long years in hiding.

Whilst everyone else was trying to eat, Cestria, however, was trying to convince Zordon to follow suit. Tommy turned to aid her after it began to sound like she wasn't going to get anywhere with him any time soon.

"Zordon, you're not trapped in an energy tube any more so you must eat something and drink to keep your strength up. You've had a long day yesterday and you'll probably have many longer ones in the days to come. You must eat as you'll need the energy to go on," Tommy insisted.

"They're right, Zordon," Alpha added in as he too was concerned for Zordon's health. "You must eat."

Zordon sighed as he gave in. "Very well, if you insist, I will eat."

He ate and drank without any further protest. Before Cestria moved away, Tommy opened his surface thoughts to her.

_Cestria, whilst I'm gone, you and Alpha must make sure that Zordon eats and drinks to keep his strength up. Force him to rest and make sure that he doesn't overexert himself without good reason. He is old, and powerful, so he must save his strength for the battles to come. _Tommy thought. She turned to him and nodded before he closed his mind to her again.

"Tommy, I'll also help Alpha with the day to day running of the Command Centre where I can too," she whispered in his ear. He nodded.

"Thanks, Cestria. I know that I can count on you," he replied with a smile.

Once breakfast was over, the Power Rangers split up to spend some time relaxing. Before Tommy left to pay a visit to Colonel Truman, he handed over Saba to Anton upstairs in the Command Centre.

"I trust you, Anton, so don't let me down and make sure that Saba doesn't fall into the wrong hands," Tommy whispered. "Make sure that you help Dr K. as best as you can whilst you're rebuilding the old Zords as well. Alpha will help you both where possible and so will Billy until we're ready to leave."

"I won't let you down, Tommy. My son saved me from Mesogog, under your guidance, so I'll never forget that I owe you a debt for protecting Reefside from, my once dangerous alter-ego, Mesogog," Anton replied. "Now go have some fun bullying Colonel Truman."

Tommy smiled as Scott and Trent entered.

"My dad isn't going to like the fact that we're about to make his Corinth Defence Force look useless, Tommy," Scott warned.

"I know," Tommy replied. "However, I want him to dislike me because I don't want him to think that I'm a soft touch when we deal with each other. Besides, we're going to need supplies which we're going to force him to provide us with."

"I wish you good luck, Tommy," Zordon smiled.

"Colonel Truman won't take me very long to deal with, Zordon," Tommy assured as he turned to Alpha. "Alpha, whilst you're helping Dr K. with the rebuilding of the Triceratops Dinozord, could you also run diagnostic checks on the Brachiozord? We've got to make sure that it didn't damage itself earlier and, if it has, we'll want to repair any damage that it has gained. Please try to prevail upon Dr K. to share her nanotechnology with us so that we don't have to waste any precious resources on minor repairs," Tommy said as he turned back to Zordon. "We're ready to be teleported out now."

Alpha nodded. "I'll do as you request, Tommy. I'll also have Billy repair my circuit boards as I think that some of them were badly damaged yesterday when the RPM Power Rangers asked me all those questions. Prepare for teleportation."

They vanished then in a flash of their coloured light as Anton sighed.

"I had better go help Dr K. now. Care to join us, Alpha?" Anton asked. Alpha looked to Zordon.

"I'll be fine, Alpha. Besides, Cestria will be able to take over the communications system here. Go help Dr K. with the reconstruction of the Triceratops Dinozord," Zordon assured.

Alpha nodded. "As you command, Zordon."

As Alpha left, Zordon sighed. _Alpha, my ever loyal friend, sometimes the strength of your concern for my well-being amazes me._

_Corinth City, Shield Control Centre, late morning, some time later_

Colonel Truman sat at his desk at that moment. He was reviewing the reports which he had received about the Brachiozord going crazy earlier this morning and he was contemplating what may have happened to cause it to do so. Fortunately, no one from the Corinth Defence Force had been injured as all of them had sensibly kept out of the way of the Zord until it had calmed down again but it was still a very disturbing incident which required further investigation.

It was awfully quiet. Vasquez was working at on the console as she coordinated the clean-up operations and the search for the RPM Power Rangers. Corporal Hicks was standing nearby and was quietly guarding them both. There had been no regular patrol through the corridor outside for over ten minutes but no one in the Shield Control Centre had noticed this fact as they were too busy with their work. Tommy Oliver stood by the door, invisible to all, as he watched them. He was smiling as he watched them go about their work because of the fact that they were blissfully unaware of his presence. Getting into the Shield Control Centre had been easy as there were limited security officers on patrol and those that Tommy, Trent and Scott had encountered were now lying unconscious in the corridor. Most surprising to three of them was the fact that the security cameras had also let them pass unnoticed without sounding the alarm.

Scott knew that all of these things would be a terrible embarrassment for his father, Colonel Truman, when he found out about the terrible lapses in security.

Tommy crept out of their view and became visible again. Then, he nodded to Trent who stood with Scott Truman against the wall nearby.

"Stick to the plan. You deal with the guns Trent and let us deal with Colonel Truman. Remember that we're unfortunately here to threaten the Colonel into cooperation so, if it helps you to be threatening, you can morph Trent. Just don't reveal yourself until we're ready to leave so that we can show him that we're not to be messed with," Tommy whispered to Trent. Trent nodded.

"I'll do it, Dr O., just watch and see," Trent replied as he disappeared. They waited a few seconds to give Trent time to get into position before they entered the room calmly.

"Hello, dad. Did you miss me?" Scott smirked as he entered. Tommy stood, in a neutral stance, whilst leaning against the edge of the doorway behind him. Both halves of his Zeonizer were inches from each other so that he could morph if the situation got out of control.

The scramble for the guns was instantaneous but Trent, using his chameleon power, had already been able to get all the guns away from them whilst they were engrossed with their work. Once they had realised that they were powerless, Scott suddenly became serious in his manner of dealing with them.

"I guess not, then. My friend here thought of paying you a visit after inconveniencing him yesterday by imprisoning Dr K., Tenaya 15, the rest of the RPM Power Rangers and I. I recommend that you listen to him rather closely," Scott replied calmly.

"We don't..." Corporal Hicks began.

"Corporal Hicks, do me a favour and save that speech for another time as I'm not here to listen to your meaningless speeches. I'm only here to help you with a problem of your own making which has far reaching consequences for the rest of the universe. If you want to brand me a "terrorist" or a "criminal", I'll take my help elsewhere," Tommy interrupted as he left his neutral stance and came in. "It won't bother me at all if Corinth fell because fools didn't heed my words."

"But..." Corporal Hicks began.

"Be quiet, Hicks. I want to hear what he has to say," Colonel Truman snapped.

Tommy smiled before turning grim. "Good. I'll keep it as simple as I possibly can. You thought that your problems were over with Venjix's destruction but they're not. By destroying Venjix, you've plunged the universe into a great deal of jeopardy as you've unleashed many evils which, up until yesterday morning, had long either been destroyed or imprisoned by other teams of Power Rangers," he said calmly. "You've done one good thing, though, as the destruction of Venjix revived my mentor, Zordon of Eltar, and his revival has given us a chance to stop them. Although, if I don't find all the Powers Rangers to have ever existed by the time the final battle comes, it will be a slim chance," he admitted. "However, until we sort this mess out, you can help us behind the scenes if you want to do the right thing. Keep your Corinth Defence Force out of our way when we are trying to destroy evil, unless you are protecting innocents, provide us with supplies and help us in our efforts to rebuild Zords which were destroyed long ago."

He paused for a moment."Or you can always do nothing and watch Corinth fall into absolute ruin. It's your choice Colonel Truman but I'll say one thing to you. If Corinth falls because you don't do anything to help us, you'll go down in history as a fool. Personally, I think that you would rather want to go down in history as a hero who led the rebellion against Venjix but it is, of course, entirely up to you."

"Why should I trust you?" Colonel Truman countered. "For all I know..."

"I know that feeling very well, Colonel Truman, but you must either trust me or you must not. Trent, we're leaving," Tommy said sadly. "We need to give the Colonel time to think about what I've said. Scott, lead the way out of here."

Trent suddenly blurred back into view. He had been standing in the corner whilst twiddling with the guns. This startled all of them except Tommy and Scott.

"Right away, Dr O.. Here you can have your guns back. At best, these would destroy the footsoldiers but the bigger monsters would just deflect shots from these guns without any effort," Trent replied as he tossed them back. He then followed Tommy and Scott as they moved to leave.

"Wait, I've decided to help you. What kind of supplies are you actually going to need?" Colonel Truman called as he stood up from his chair. The trick had worked.

Tommy activated his communicator. "Cestria, send me the files marked Calculated List of Supplies and Estimated Parts and Metals Required for the Zords."

"They're on their way, Tommy. The Falconzord hasn't returned yet but it should be back soon enough. Cestria out," she replied.

Seconds later, a substantial pile of paper appeared on Colonel Truman's desk. The list of supplies was substantially smaller than the Zord parts and metals list which was absolutely huge.

"That is a complete list of all the parts needed for Zords, communicators and other pieces of equipment. I've taken into account unexpected circumstances such as repairs or new designs for new Zords," Tommy replied."You probably won't have all of that stuff but anything that you do have will be very useful to us."

Colonel Truman flicked through the list and was stunned to find that it was an exact list of everything that had been found in a newly discovered hidden vault in the mountains nearby a few days ago.

"Actually, we've got everything on this list. It's an exact list of materials that was found in a hidden vault in the mountains a few days ago but, due to Venjix launching a final attack, we've never had a chance to use them or to try to find out about where they all come from," Colonel Truman said as he fetched a letter from the drawer nearby. "All we do know about the vault is that we found this letter on the doorway but we've not been able to read anything except the signature, Dimitria of Inquiris, but perhaps you'll be able to read it."

Tommy took the letter instantly from Colonel Truman at the mention of Dimitria's name. Then, after a few seconds, he found that he could read it perfectly as the words, which had originally been blurry, suddenly became perfectly clear at his touch.

"_Dear Tommy, Zordon and Power Rangers of Past, Present and Future, _

_This is what you will need down to the last wire and the last lump of metal for rebuilding the Zords and other pieces of equipment. As you already know, I can foresee great events and the revival of many evils, which has probably only recently occurred as you read this, is one of the events which I know will occur in the future as I write this. This is my contribution to safeguarding the future until he calls us to your aid. It took me many years to gather all this for you so do not squander the materials. _

_And Tommy, do not forget that you are a rare person, the Universal Morphing Grid chose you many times for that reason, and all it will take is the heart of a Pink Crane to show you what lies within. Do not falter even though the path ahead will be hard for you or you may fail. I can see that much even though I cannot see the outcome. Sorrows and joys await you but Alpha 6 and I agree unanimously that you are the right person to have this responsibility. _

_Trust in Zordon's guidance, and may fate be kind to you,_

_Dimitria of Inquiris."_ Tommy read. He turned rather pale.

"Who is Dimitria? What did she mean?" Scott asked.

"Dimitria of Inquiris was the mentor of the Turbo Rangers. She is also a powerful mystic. Her long lost sister is Divatox, a space pirate and a powerful villain, who we'll probably be facing soon enough. All the materials in that underground vault are now the property of Zordon of Eltar and the Power Rangers, Colonel Truman. I'm not surprised that you couldn't read this letter as there was a powerful spell over it so that only I or another Power Ranger who knew of her or Zordon, my mentor, could understand her message. You were also lucky that no one touched any of the materials in there as they're likely to be cursed so that only Power Rangers or their allies can touch them," Tommy replied. "However, as to what she meant when she wrote specifically to me, I've got no idea."

That part was a lie because Tommy knew exactly what she had meant. She was referring to what he was, his task and his love for Kimberly. He was relieved that even she couldn't see the outcome of this war against evil. However, he wondered if she was trying to tell him that he needed Kimberly's love to fully awaken his dormant powers. He also wondered how hard the path to destroy the many evils that Venjix's destruction had unleashed would be. He quickly snapped out of his thoughts as everyone stared at him.

"We had better go. When I get back from a little business trip I've got to go on, we can talk further Colonel Truman. If I feel generous, I might let you see inside my Brachiozord. If you're especially lucky, you might even get to meet Zordon. Then, I might tell you a little more about myself," Tommy said as he activated his communicator and teleported back to the Brachiozord in a flash of light.

Trent sighed. "That's Dr O. for you. A little abrupt but, otherwise, he's a good man and I'm glad that I know him. I apologise that we couldn't be more civil but we've got little time on our hands because of the approaching business trip. The many evils out there now will likely come here like bears to honey because this place is one of the last hubs of civilisation so it's best for us to be prepared for the worst. Scott, I trust that you'll probably be staying here to collect the other supplies and to oversee a few things?"

"I'll be staying, Trent. Go back to the Brachiozord. Tell my Rangers and Dr K. that I'll be back soon," Scott confirmed.

"I'll tell them, Scott," Trent replied as he teleported away.

"Is it always going to be like this?" Colonel Truman asked.

"Unfortunately dad, yes. This is only the beginning as there aren't that many of the older Power Rangers here yet. By the way, that business trip that Tommy Oliver talked about is actually a rescue mission. For some reason, he wants you to think badly of him although, in actual fact, he's genuinely a good man. I may not have been around him for very long but anyone can see that at first glance. He's also somewhat of a legend amongst the other Power Ranger teams but, until more Power Rangers are actually rescued from labour camps or from their hiding places, we won't know exactly how much of a legend he is," Scott replied. "There's one good thing about the evils rampaging across the Earth, though."

"What is that?" Colonel Truman asked.

"I don't have to go into retirement yet," Scott replied. "I've got no idea about what I'm going to do after being a Power Ranger."

"Try stock car racing," Tommy replied as he reappeared in a flash of coloured light. "I did it for a while and I earned a lot of money in the process. Trust me, from personal experience, Red Rangers like fast cars and dangerous environments. Of course, I ended up becoming an archaeologist and science teacher..."

"Why did you come back?" Scott asked.

"Zordon wants to talk to us all so he sent me to fetch you," Tommy answered.

"And did you..." Scott began.

"Ask Billy or even Anton later when you find the time and they'll tell you all about it," Tommy shrugged. "Now, come on."

Scott nodded and, together, they vanished in a beam of red light leaving a thoughtful Colonel Truman behind.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late morning_

The Power Rangers assembled before Zordon in the main Command Centre. He sat there with the letter in his lap and an unreadable expression upon his face.

"Rangers, we've been rather fortunate today. An old friend of mine, Dimitria of Inquiris, has left us the materials which we were so desperately in need of to rebuild the Zords and the other equipment in a secret vault in the mountains of Corinth City. We must secure the vault's contents and store them safely away where no evil can reach them. Cestria, this is your task. It shouldn't take you long if you use the teleport to transport the materials to the Storage Hangar in the centre of the Brachiozord," Zordon said.

Cestria nodded. "I'll get on to it right away, Zordon," she replied as she went to the console. The Brachiozord suddenly growled again and Tommy found that the Falcon Power Coin was glowing.

"It seems that the Falconzord has returned," Tommy said. "Alpha?"

At the other console, Alpha 5, who had been called to the meeting by Zordon, and away from the rebuilding of the Zords, began to call up the data the Falconzord had gathered.

"It didn't find any openings to the dark dimensions, Tommy," he replied after analysing the data.

"Then, I'll just have to make a doorway. Billy?" Tommy replied grimly.

"It'll be risky but, if I've learned anything over the years, it's not to argue with you "Reds". Besides, I trust that you'll be able to make this work. Where are we going to open the doorway, though?" Billy smiled.

"Just in front of the Brachiozord would be the best place to open the doorway. It means that Zordon and Alpha can keep an eye on the doorway and stop anything evil from escaping into this world through it," Tommy replied.

Zordon nodded. "Yes, I agree. We must make sure that evil does not catch us by surprise by using that doorway so we will monitor the doorway and keep it open until you return. I wish you both good luck and I hope that you recover Kimberly before it is too late. The Power Rangers staying behind will protect Corinth whilst you are gone and you can rest assured that I will guide them, as I used to do for you, where I can."

Tommy nodded. "The Falconzord is awaiting us. I trust in all of you to keep Corinth safe while we're gone. Ready, Billy?"

Billy nodded as he pulled out his Triceratops Power Coin. "When you are."

Tommy pulled out his Dragon Power Coin and nodded as he took a deep breath. He then got into position and held the Power Coin out in front of him. "It's Morphin' Time! Dragonzord!"

"Triceratops," Billy said.

They morphed and, once they were done, Billy looked himself over.

"Now this brings back memories, Tommy. Remember that time where that snake nearly turned me evil and you had to remove my helmet to save me? I was then recognised by the very ninjas, who later became Power Rangers, that we were actually trying to save. You and Kimberly didn't have to unmask but you still did it anyway as you decided that you couldn't allow me to be the only one to be found out," Billy said. "Those were the days."

Tommy smiled reminiscently, "I know. Those were some good times we had when we first became Power Rangers."

He turned to Zordon at that moment.

"We'll be back soon," he vowed as they made their way down to the Ninjazord hangar.

_Outside Corinth, Falconzord Cockpit, late morning, minutes later_

Tommy sat in the cockpit with Billy standing behind him. He had his Dragon Power Coin in his hands.

"Are you sure that this will work?" Billy asked as the Falconzord turned back, a large distance away from the Brachiozord, and began heading towards the Brachiozord at full speed so that they would successfully pass through the doorway that Tommy was just about to create.

"Not completely but, if I can use my Falcon Power Coin to allow the Falconzord to use Ninjetti techniques, I should be able to use my Dragon Power Coin to allow the Falconzord to pass into the dark dimension," Tommy replied as he closed his eyes and began to concentrate upon channelling the powers of the Dragon Power Coin into the Falconzord.

"You're not connected to evil any more so you might not be able to do this," Billy warned.

"We'll find out soon enough," Tommy assured. "And the Dragon Power Coin is unique because evil originally gave it the power to work. Hold tight, Billy, as things might get a little bumpy in here."

Tommy got back to concentrating upon channelling the powers into the Falconzord. Seconds later, the cockpit was filled with an eerie green light coming from the Dragon Power Coin and Tommy. As the power transferred from the coin into the Falconzord, it began to glow a greenish colour and started to tremble. Two minutes later, there was a flash of bright green light and the Falconzord vanished as a doorway into the dark dimension appeared.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late morning, at the moment the Falconzord vanishes_

"They did it!" Alpha exclaimed. "The sensors indicate that they've passed into the dark dimensions of Rita and Zedd. Now, we can only wait."

Zordon sighed in relief. His relief was short lived, however, as the lighting turned red and the alarm sounded.

"Ai, Ai, Ai, evil never rests. They must have sensed Tommy going into the dark dimension. They're going to attempt to take advantage of it," Alpha said as he brought up live images onto the viewing screen. There was a golden knight, which sensors indicated was Goldenrod, but it was the other villain that was attracting the most attention.

"Trent?" Scott exclaimed puzzled as he turned. "But..."

"It isn't me," Trent replied. "I was afraid that the energy would revive him. He's an evil clone Ranger and, if things go the way they did the last time, we'll have to fight it out again until one of us is destroyed because two identical Power Rangers can't exist on the Universal Morphing Grid with the same power source at the same time."

"Trent, the degeneration of your Ranger Powers will be faster than last time because the balance of power in the universe has been so drastically upset. You must destroy the clone quickly before you are both destroyed," Zordon warned. Trent nodded.

"I'll help you, Trent," RJ reassured him. "The RPM Power Rangers and Kira can handle the lesser threat whilst we deal with the clone. Who's Goldenrod anyway?"

"He's Zeltrax's son. I wouldn't underestimate him as he's more powerful than he looks," Kira warned as she shivered.

"Go, Rangers. Protect Corinth from these foul monsters," Zordon said. "Alpha and I will keep an eye on the situation from the Command Centre."

A video link to Anton Mercer, who was with Dr K. and Tenaya 15 as they slowly began to rebuild the Triceratops Dinozord, came up on the main screen. So far, they only had the transport base complete but they had started to work on the Zord's shell.

"I'll be watching as well. If it becomes necessary for me to aid you, I'll teleport down there. However, I don't know if I'll be able to be much use or not," Anton added.

Saba, as usual, was very excited. "What are you saying? We will kick butt, Mercer," he exclaimed as he began to wildly swing about. Anton ducked, sighed and pinned Saba down to the table.

"Is Saba always so excitable?" Anton asked Zordon.

"Unfortunately, yes. Go Power Rangers and may the Power protect you," Zordon said as Alpha began to prepare to teleport them out.

"Prepare for teleportation, Rangers," Alpha warned as he activated the controls. Seconds later, they were gone in a flash of light.

_Corinth City, early afternoon_

The Power Rangers reappeared right behind Goldenrod and the White Ranger clone in a flash of coloured light. Predictably, both villains were attempting to destroy everything in sight.

"Stop right there," RJ exclaimed. "Your time is up."

Both Goldenrod and the White Ranger clone turned.

"This isn't the Earth that you knew before you were destroyed, clone, Goldenrod. It has changed a lot in six years. I warn you now that we're here to destroy you to put a stop to your evil," Trent replied as he stood ready for battle.

"Ah, White Dino Ranger, it has been a long time," the clone said as it spread its arms out in an exaggerated gesture. "This world is so much better than the one we used to know. It'll be so much easier to conquer it now as you won't be able to stop us without your powers."

"You've made a big mistake, my clone," Trent warned as he looked to RJ, who was at the front of the Power Rangers, for guidance.

"RPM Power Rangers, Kira, take care of Goldenrod. Trent, you and I will put a stop to your clone once and for all. Ready?" RJ commanded.

"Ready," was the unanimous reply as the engine cells were entered into the morphers and the Dino Morphers were activated. RJ activated his own morpher.

"Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!" RJ called.

"RPM, Get in Gear!" was the unanimous call from the RPM Power Rangers.

"Dino Thunder, power up! Ha!" Kira called.

"White Ranger, Dino Power!" Trent finished. Everyone morphed and Kira, thinking sensibly, snatched up a ribbon from the ground which had probably been dropped by an innocent fleeing from the confusion and panic caused by these monsters. It was suitably yellow and she tied it around Trent's arm.

"So that we can tell the difference between you and your clone," she said quickly in explanation when Trent looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"So you do have your powers after all? And there are more Power Rangers? This is going to be interesting," Goldenrod said as he drew his sword. "I'll have revenge for my previous destruction on my father's behalf."

"Not if we can help it," RJ countered.

They charged. The RPM Power Rangers went after Goldenrod with Kira as RJ and Trent attacked the clone. The fighting was intense, back and forth, back and forth, with neither side, even though evil was greatly outnumbered, having an advantage. As Zordon had warned, the degeneration of the White Ranger powers affected both White Dino Rangers quickly. They both grew weaker as the fight progressed until, eventually, both were struck by electricity and forced to their knees.

Meanwhile, the RPM Power Rangers were having more luck against Goldenrod. With Kira's help, they managed to severely damage Goldenrod enough for him to decide to grow stronger.

"You're in for it now, Power Rangers!" Goldenrod roared as he grew to a dangerous size.

"It's time for the Zords," Scott declared. "Kira, you sit this one out for now and let us handle Goldenrod. Go help Trent destroy that clone!"

The RPM Power Rangers called upon their Zords and jumped into the cockpits as Kira turned her attention to the fight between Trent and the clone. Both of them were still on their knees and RJ had been cast aside by the clone. As the clone got up, Kira leapt to Trent's defence and, by using her Ptera Grips, she made an attempt to stall the White Dino Ranger clone to give Trent the time to get back up. The clone, however, cast her aside with ease and forced her to power down.

"Kira!" Trent called. He was still unable to force himself back onto his feet.

"This is where you're destroyed this time, Trent Fernandez," the clone growled as it was poised to strike Trent. Trent closed his eyes as he braced himself for the imminent attack. An attack did come seconds later but it wasn't the one expected by Trent. Kira's attempt to stall the clone had given RJ the chance to recover and he had leapt over Trent to defend him from the clone.

"Wolf beam!" he exclaimed as a beam of purple coloured energy struck the clone and caused an explosion. "Overconfidence has cost you your victory, clone, and it has also cost you your life."

The clone growled. "You may have defeated me but my master, Mesogog, is back and he's much more dangerous than before. The better White Dino Ranger won again this time, Trent. Farewell."

The clone was then destroyed which severed its deep shared connection with Trent to the Universal Morphing Grid. Trent powered down and clutched his chest as RJ did the same.

"Are you all right?" RJ asked.

"Yes, it's just a scratch," Trent said as he got up. "Thanks for the save, RJ."

RJ shrugged as Kira got up. RJ looked up to watch the battle between the RPM Power Rangers and Goldenrod with a smile on his face. "Rangers look out for other Rangers, Trent. You know, it seems that the RPM Power Rangers are besting Goldenrod as well," he replied.

Above them, the RPM Ultrazord was besting Goldenrod and had injured him badly. However, Goldenrod decided to cut his losses and flee before they could deliver the final blow.

"Mark my words, I'll be back with my father and you'll pay for everything Power Rangers!" Goldenrod growled as he shrunk back to normal size and fled.

"Stop!" Scott exclaimed as he leapt out of the Megazord to pursue Goldenrod but it was too late. Goldenrod was gone.

The RPM Power Rangers left their Megazord and took the engine cells with them. Their Megazord then proceeded to disband into the individual Zords and each one returned to storage. As they powered down, Scott was angry.

"Damn it, we let him get away," he exclaimed. The Drago Morpher beeped and Trent activated the communicator.

"Power Rangers, Trent, congratulations on destroying the White Dino Ranger clone. Goldenrod has left the city and is likely to go in search of his father so we will not see him again for a while. Do not despair that you did not destroy Goldenrod the first time because there will be other times and other chances to get rid of him in the future," Zordon reassured.

"What now, Zordon?" RJ asked.

"Come back to the Brachiozord to get some lunch. Now, all we can do is wait for Tommy and Billy to return with Kimberly. Zordon out," Zordon replied.

Zordon cut off the communication link at that moment and the Power Rangers sighed.

"Prepare for teleportation," RJ warned them. Seconds later, they vanished in beams of coloured light.

_Somewhere in a Dark Dimension, early afternoon, at that very moment_

Tommy returned to consciousness in stages. The first thing that he was aware of was pain originating in his side from the injuries which he had sustained during the trip between dimensions. His other senses soon followed and, after a minute or so, he was soon fully conscious. As he remembered what had happened, he shot up rapidly to find that he was still in the form of the Green Ranger and that his injuries weren't serious. They were just rather painful instead. Billy, however, was lying crumpled in the cockpit and he had been injured enough for him to have automatically powered down.

Tommy instantly turned to the controls and pulled up the data on their location on-screen. They had arrived in the dark dimensions and the Falconzord hadn't sustained too much damage. Tommy's plan to get there had worked so now all he had to do was wake Billy and rescue Kimberly. It wasn't going to be easy but Tommy knew that he had to hurry as Kimberly wouldn't be able to last much longer especially in a dark dimension like this one. Tommy just hoped with all his heart that he would manage to get to her before it was too late.


	10. Chapter 7: Dark Dimensions

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 7: Dark Dimensions

_Somewhere in a Dark Dimension, early afternoon, minutes later_

"... Come on Billy, wake up," Tommy was saying as Billy moaned softly. Billy was instantly aware of a sharp pain travelling down his arm and he groaned as he opened his eyes to find that Tommy was hanging over him. As he checked himself over, he became aware of the fact that he had powered down because he found himself in plain clothing once more.

"Man, Billy, I was worried about you," Tommy smiled as he helped Billy to his feet. Billy clutched his chest again as pain unexpectedly shot down from his neck and caught him by surprise.

"Did we make it?" Billy asked.

Tommy nodded. "We're definitely in one of the dark dimensions right now as it feels so familiarly cold out there. The Falconzord sensors indicate that we're not outside Corinth any longer as well. It has been slightly damaged, and I'm slightly injured, but you were the worst effected by the travel between dimensions out of the three of us. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Billy assured.

"You should morph again when we get out of the Zord just to be on the safe side," Tommy warned. "We have no idea what we might come up against in this dimension."

Billy nodded in reply. Then, they both stumbled out of the Zord and took a quick look around at their surroundings in curiosity. They were in a seemingly endless tunnel within a dark and dismal cave. Thick grey smoke of sorrow and despair clung to the invisible ground beneath their feet before it started to surround both of them. This caused Tommy to shiver.

Billy sighed.

"I had better morph," he said as he took out the Triceratops Power Coin. "Triceratops," he called as he held it in the customary position and activated it. He morphed.

"Do you know, Tommy, that I actually wish that the Falconzord was more portable as it's going to cause us a problem right now. We'll either have to leave it here, and take the risk that evil might steal it for the Zord technology, or send it back to the Brachiozord," Billy said grimly.

The Falconzord squawked in indignation at the suggestion of being left behind and Tommy gasped as he felt a massive drain in his energy. This forcibly powered him down as the Falconzord began to glow with eerie green light which suggested that it was behind the drain. Seconds later, it used the energy it had absorbed to shrink down to the size of an average falcon. It then proceeded to hover around Tommy as Billy looked at it surprised. However, Billy quickly turned his attention to Tommy who was standing there breathing heavily in exhaustion.

"Thanks, Billy," Tommy replied simply as he took out his Falcon Power Coin, activated it and morphed into the White Ranger.

"I'm sorry, Tommy. I didn't mean for that to happen," Billy replied.

"No, it's all right," Tommy replied quickly. "You wouldn't have been able to predict that the Falconzord would interpret your idea as an instruction and that it would carry the instruction out."

The miniature Falconzord settled on Tommy's shoulder as Billy looked around. His face was wrinkled which suggested he was in a state of deep concentration.

"She's here somewhere, Tommy, I can sense it," Billy said after a moment.

"She could be anywhere. It might take us a while to find her so we had better get moving," Tommy warned.

Billy nodded and they set off together down the tunnel as fast as they could. They could only hope that they would find Kimberly before it was too late.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, RPM base, early afternoon_

Dillon sat at the table. He was quietly contemplating what the future held as Summer came in. Lunch had been long devoured in the Ranger Planning Room and everyone had gone off to do their own things. This section of the Brachiozord was extremely quiet and quiet was just the way that Dillon liked things. Summer evidently couldn't believe how quiet it was as she had a stunned look on her face as she looked around.

"Wow, it's really quiet down here. Where is everyone?" Summer asked. Dillon smiled.

"They're away doing other things in other parts of the Brachiozord. I wanted to have some quiet time to myself so I came down here," Dillon replied with a shrug.

Summer smiled. "Can I join you?"

Dillon shrugged. "It's up to you as I won't stop you."

She took a seat next to him at the table. Dillon was suddenly aware of how uncomfortably close she was to him as he could hear her erratic heartbeat and her deep, slow and nervous breaths. He wondered what was making her so nervous but he didn't say anything else, though, as much as he desperately wanted to, and continued his quiet contemplation of the future. She just sat there and her eyes constantly searched his expression for something which he hid from her behind his semblance of indifference. She didn't say anything else to him as she couldn't find the words which she so desperately sought to describe how she was feeling at that very moment.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Training Gym, early afternoon, at that moment_

"Are you so sure that you both want to take me on? I warn you now that I'll not be easy to defeat as I'm a highly trained Pai Zhua master," RJ warned.

Flynn and Scott, who had foolishly decided to challenge RJ just to see how much training they were going to have to put in over the next few weeks, looked at each other before they nodded. Then, they got into their fighting stances as they prepared to enter a battle which they had already lost.

RJ smiled as he made another exaggerated gesture. "To make this fair, no one will be allowed to use their morphers during this short skirmish. This means me as well even though I'll be at a serious disadvantage considering that it's two on one. However, I like interesting odds as it makes my life exciting. Are you boys both ready to face a real challenge?" he asked. He was deliberately trying to goad them into making their first mistake which was an attack fuelled by anger.

"Boys? Let's get him," Scott exclaimed. He was clearly angered by the insult.

"Aye," Flynn agreed with him.

They attacked and RJ, yawning with boredom, caught both of their fists in his hands, twisted their arms into awkward positions so that they couldn't strike back at him, and then threw them to the floor with ease.

"Lesson Number One, my friends. Attacks made in anger are never the answer," RJ said with mock seriousness as Flynn and Scott scrambled back onto their feet. Then, they attacked again and RJ calmly blocked or dodged all of their blows before he knocked them back down onto the floor again.

"Lesson Number Two, my friends. Defence is the best offence," RJ smiled. "Have you had enough humiliation, yet?"

"No way," Scott replied as he and Flynn charged again. In response, RJ proceeded to bend the rules a little to defend himself. He decided to teach them both an important lesson that they desperately needed to learn if they were to have any chance of surviving to the very end of this fight against evil.

"Call to the spirit within, unleash the Wolf!" he exclaimed as he unleashed his Wolf spirit upon them. Flynn managed to dive out of the way in time but Scott was too late to escape the attack and the Wolf spirit caught him in the chest. This sent flying into the foam wall of the Training Gym.

"That was cheating!" Scott exclaimed as the Wolf spirit vanished.

"Not at all. Lesson Number Three, my friends. It's the most important thing a Power Ranger needs to know to survive. Always expect the unexpected and always be prepared to bend the rules a little to get the job done," RJ replied as Flynn attempted to try to catch RJ out with a sneak attack. However, it backfired as RJ caught his fist without turning and then proceeded to slam Flynn into the floor in front of him.

Scott grimaced. _That had to hurt._ He thought silently.

RJ kept his foot on Flynn's chest so that Flynn couldn't get back up no matter how hard he struggled. RJ coughed so that they looked directly at him. He needed their full attention to be directed towards him as he was about to rub the fact that they had lost so badly in their faces to impress upon them the need for training over the coming weeks.

"And that, gentlemen, is why I'm a Pai Zhua master. We don't need to think as we know what must be done and when it must be done for," RJ shrugged. "Do you know that you're both like your animal spirits? Scott; you're like the eagle, proud, noble, courageous and... stupid. Flynn; you are like the lion, the defender of the weak, strong, proud and... you're angered by the slightest injustice. While I'm more like the Wolf, cunning, sensible, intelligent..."

"I think the lesson that we need to learn, Scott, is that we should never challenge RJ to a fight ever again," Flynn grimaced as he interrupted RJ whilst he was listing many of the qualities of the wolf.

"Perhaps, gentlemen, we should start with the absolute basics. Get up," RJ sighed once Flynn was finished speaking as he removed his foot from his chest. Flynn and Scott got up and RJ smiled.

"I'm going to demonstrate the techniques the Cubs are taught by Pai Zhua masters. Master these, and the discipline of Pai Zhua, and you might one day have a better chance of besting me," he explained. "There will be times, of course, when your morphers may be wrecked for some reason or another. My teachings will be most useful during those times, friends, when you face opponents with only your own skills during those moments. Your skills, unless they improve, may just be your downfall during those battles. Just copy my stances, boys, and you'll pick up the techniques of the Order of the Claw eventually."

RJ then moved into the basic stances of the Tiger, the Cheetah and the Jaguar spirits. The stances that, a long time ago, he used to often watch his students and friends go through in his loft whilst learning what they had to know to become Pai Zhua masters and defeat Dai Shi. As his mind wandered through those bitter-sweet memories, he was barely aware that Flynn and Scott, like obedient students, were copying his every move so that they could improve their fighting technique and have a better chance of surviving through the tough battles where the strength of their skill would be the difference between life and death.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Dino Thunder base, early afternoon, at that moment _

The base for the Dino Thunder Rangers was a mix of all the Dino Rangers' tastes. There were notepads, with pencils and other drawing equipment, lying on a table in one corner, which Trent had already used to test his rusty drawing skills again, there was a guitar underneath Kira's bed, so that she could sing whenever she wanted to, and there was also a small gym for Conner, where he could enjoy working out and keeping fit, which would be left untouched until they had found him. None of these things currently held the interest of those who occupied the base, though. No, what everyone in the Dino Thunder base was currently interested in was the computer terminal.

It had obviously been put in for Ethan by Dr O. but it would've remained untouched until Ethan had been found if it hadn't been for Ziggy. He had gotten bored as he hadn't wanted to train with RJ or contemplate his future like Dillon so he had wandered aimlessly through the Brachiozord until, eventually, he had decided to pay a visit to the Dino Thunder base to get to know Trent and Kira better. After all, they would obviously be serving as active Power Rangers for a long time together and he didn't want them to think that they couldn't be friends as Ziggy, although incompetent at times, was a rather friendly guy.

Ziggy had found them doing their own thing. Kira had been playing old, hauntingly beautiful tunes on the guitar to relax and Trent had been sketching Kira's portrait as she sat there. When he had entered, Ziggy had accidentally turned on the computer terminal by mistakenly settling on the keyboard of the computer at the terminal to ask them about their time as Power Rangers under Dr O.'s tutelage. The screen had flared up into life instantly as he had sat on the power button. After a few seconds, the desktop had appeared and a game marked "_Power Rangers: The Journeys_" had caught Ziggy's eye. Despite Kira and Trent warning him not to touch the computer terminal any further, Ziggy had started up the game as he was curious to find out what it was about.

One thing soon led to another and despite their reluctance to play originally, Trent and Kira were now thoroughly enjoying themselves while learning about the legacy of the Power Rangers as, unlike Ziggy, they had recognised that the game was a representation of the actual events which had occurred back in the days of the Original Power Rangers. "_Power Rangers: The Journeys_" involved them choosing one of the Original Power Rangers to play as for the first level and going through the events of the old days as that Power Ranger. Ziggy had chosen Zack, purely because in Ziggy's opinion, Zack had looked "good" and had strong statistics. Kira had chosen Kimberly to find out more about her as a person and to find out what her connection to Dr O. was. Tommy had never mentioned her to the Dino Rangers much more than he had to and what he had said to them often held a hint of regret about something that had occurred between them both so Kira wanted to know why there was regret between them as well. Trent, surprisingly, had chosen Jason, and not Billy as Ziggy had guessed he would choose, to allow him to see what being a leader was like as he had often wondered about the responsibilities of the Red Ranger and this game gave him the chance to find out the truth about what it was really like for himself without having to rely on the Red Rangers', often embellished, accounts.

After watching the scenes of the Original Power Rangers getting their powers, and of Zordon warning them that Rita Repulsa would now hunt them down, the three of them were now learning how to control these powers, and use the controllers, in the first battle against Putties that the Original Power Rangers had ever fought. Ziggy was doing really well so far but Kira and Trent were struggling a little as they did not usually play computer games. They had to get used to using the controllers, which Ziggy had already used before, and the game controls first before they could start improving their style of game-play.

"Wow, this is a cool game. I wonder where Tommy got this?" Ziggy said as he dodged a putty and struck down another in the game using Zack's typical dancing style.

"He created this game, Ziggy, and based it upon the actual events that occurred during each of the Power Ranger teams' active service. Did you not notice that Billy is a part of this?" Trent replied as he pointed to the almost lifelike avatar of Billy who was struggling to fight off the Putties. "This must be how the Original Power Rangers got their Powers."

"But there's no sign of Tommy anywhere so it can't be an actual representation as he was part of the Original Power Rangers team too, you know," Ziggy scoffed.

"He won't be in this part of the game, Ziggy," Kira replied as she took out another Putty. "Remember what he must have told your team about his past. He was once an evil Power Ranger under the control of..."

"Rita Repulsa!" Ziggy exclaimed as the Putties, who they had just defeated, disappeared and they came to the scene where Rita Repulsa cursed Zordon and the Power Rangers whilst she was watching through her telescope because they had defeated them. "Man, she isn't as ugly as I thought she would be."

"But her henchmen are," Trent grimaced. "And look at her palace on the Moon, it's as opulent and as over-the-top as Dr O. once described it to me. I wonder if it actually looked like this."

"It's likely that it did look like that back then," Kira said. "After all, this appears to be an extremely accurate, highly detailed, role-playing representation of what actually occurred back then in every other way so why would he not represent Rita's palace exactly as it was back then as well?"

"You know, this game might actually come in handy one day. If we're ever struggling to destroy a villain when we're fighting them in real life, we could use this game to find their weaknesses. We should keep playing on," Ziggy mused. Both Kira and Trent looked at each other for a moment before they nodded in agreement. They knew that they might learn something that would be important later on in their fight against evil and, even if Ziggy wasn't that interested in the history of the Power Rangers, they were interested in finding out more about the origin of the Power Rangers. Although they already knew about some of their origins, they wanted to know about the rest as Dr O. had been rather vague when he had occasionally talked of his past which made both Kira and Trent want to know why. Little did they realise, this game would become more important in the future than they could ever guess.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zord Construction Bay, early afternoon, at that moment_

The outer shell of the Triceratops Dinozord was beginning to take shape already even though they hadn't been reconstructing the Zord for long. One side of it was now done and Dr K., taking advantage of Tenaya 15's robotics, was halfway through rebuilding the second side of the shell as well. They were considerably ahead of schedule but they still continued on at full pace. They knew that what they were rebuilding would likely be needed soon enough in the fight against evil so, the sooner they could repair it, the better.

Anton Mercer was in conversation with Alpha over a video link to the main Command Centre, after he had decided that he could afford to update Alpha on the status of the Zord's reconstruction, as Dr K. and Tenaya 15 continued working on.

"... The shell of the Triceratops Dinozord is taking shape nicely down here Alpha so we're ahead of schedule already. What about the horde of materials that Dimitria of Inquiris left for us?" Anton was saying.

"The transport of the materials to the Storage Bay is complete," Alpha replied. "And the diagnostic checks on the Brachiozord are almost finished too. I'll just have to go outside and run the external checks on the outer shell but that shouldn't take me too long. Then, I can officially get to work repairing any damage which has been done to the Brachiozord. Cestria is continuing to monitor the doorway to the dark dimension but there has been no sign of anything that would be cause for concern so far and the doorway remains stable."

It took a moment, as he became aware of them for the first time, for Anton to register the faint snores that were originating behind Alpha. He instantly began to wonder who was sleeping. When Alpha realised that Anton could hear the snores, despite Alpha's attempts to block them out during their discussion to hide them from him, he sighed.

"Zordon is resting but keep this fact to yourself," Alpha 5 explained in a faint voice. "He's older than he looks, you know, so he needs his rest to be at full strength since he isn't trapped in an energy tube any more. Sometimes, I don't think that he quite realises this fact. Keep us informed about your progress down there and, when he wakes, I'll inform Zordon of how well you're proceeding with the reconstruction of the Triceratops Dinozord. Alpha out."

The video link was cut off by Alpha at that moment and Anton sighed. As he turned to return back to helping with the reconstruction of the shell of the Triceratops Dinozord, he instantly thought about what it was like to be a Power Ranger and stopped for a moment.

_I wonder how hard it is to be a Power Ranger. I wonder what it feels like to have the Power flowing through your veins, to have to have courage in moments which any normal person would be trembling in fear, to be burdened with such a great responsibility knowing that, if you fail, the whole world will be put in jeopardy..._ Anton thought as he glanced down to the Tiger Power Coin in his hands and to Saba in his belt. _Hopefully, I'll never have to find out about just how it feels to be a Power Ranger, even just for a moment, as I don't know if I would be able to be of much use to anyone. I don't know if I would be able to face up to evil or if I would run away like a coward... _

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, RPM base, early afternoon_

"Do you know, Dillon, that you were really brave doing what you did to destroy Venjix yesterday? You could have died yet you still risked yourself anyway to save the world. Why, Dillon?" Summer said to finally break the awkward silence between them.

He turned to her. Dillon so desperately wanted to say that it was to save her, and all the innocents in Corinth, that he had sacrificed himself to destroy Venjix but he couldn't find the words to tell her the truth. Instead, he decided to avoid the question deliberately.

"You would've sacrificed yourself for everyone, as I did, if you had been in my situation, would you have not?" he replied.

"You're avoiding the question, Dillon," Summer accused.

"Of course," Dillon replied. He laughed as she made a face at him. In that perfect moment, both of them so desperately wanted to say something rather important to the other but, before they could, the alarm went off. The lighting turned red as well and this ruined their chance to express their feelings.

"We had better get up to the Command Centre as it sounds like evil has returned to Corinth," Summer sighed. Dillon nodded as they abandoned the table together and made their way up to the main Command Centre.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Dino Thunder base, early afternoon, at that moment_

As the alarm went off, the game was automatically saved and shut down by the system.

"Not fair! I was just beginning to really enjoy that," Ziggy exclaimed as he put the controller down in disgust. They had just gotten to the part where the Dinozords had been released for the first time and they had been about to form the Original Megazord to fight Goldar for the first time as well. However, before they could, the game had been saved and shut down by the system.

Both Trent and Kira put the controllers down and just shrugged. "Well, we had better go find out about the villain which has caused the alarm to go off. Are you coming Ziggy?" Trent asked.

Ziggy nodded and the three of them left the Dino Thunder base together to head to the main Command Centre.

_Somewhere in a Dark Dimension, early afternoon, at that very moment_

"Man, this dimension is endless," Tommy complained as they continued down another yet another tunnel. They had been going down tunnel after tunnel for a while now and there was still no sign of Kimberly or the villain who had captured her anywhere.

"It only appears to be endless, Tommy," Billy replied as they continued walking.

At that moment, they came to a fork in the tunnel and stopped. There were about a dozen smaller tunnels to choose from and Tommy had no idea about which one he had to take to find Kimberly. Before he could stop to consider this problem, the Falconzord made the choice for him as it flew down the tunnel on the far right.

"Wait," Tommy exclaimed as he chased after it without considering where he was going.

"Tommy!" Billy called after him. Seconds later, he too had gone down the tunnel to the far right after deciding that they couldn't risk splitting up in this dark dimension. It only took him a few minutes to catch up with Tommy as the tunnel soon led to a cavern which had no other tunnels branching off from it. In simple terms, a dead end. However, it did have a pit right in the centre which had green smoke rising out of it. The Falconzord was squawking urgently, ducking and diving in and out of the pit, in an attempt to suggest to them both that they had to go down there to find Kimberly.

"She's down there? And you are sure?" Tommy asked. The Falconzord nodded in reply.

"It's sure she is down there?" Billy asked. Tommy nodded.

"Yes, she's down there somewhere. I'm sure now because the Falconzord is," Tommy replied adamantly. Billy hesitantly peered over the edge but, because of the smoke, he couldn't see how deep the pit was nor could he see if it actually had an end at all. He then turned to Tommy to see a determined look upon his face, a look "Reds" often sported before they were about to attempt something which no one could change their minds on, and sighed. Billy knew that he and Tommy were about to make the leap of faith into the pit and, although he was reluctant to do it, Billy would follow Tommy down there because he would never abandon him or Kimberly when they needed him most. They were his oldest friends after all.

"You're sure you want to make the leap?" Billy asked. Tommy blinked.

"I haven't even suggested leaping into the pit, yet. How did you know I was just about to say that?" Tommy asked with a stunned expression on his face. Billy smiled.

"You "Reds" are all rather predictable, Tommy. Once you get to know one "Red", you know them all," Billy replied. Tommy smiled.

"I suppose," he said as he looked away. "You don't have to come with me, Billy. I can have the Falconzord take you back to Corinth if you want."

"Tommy, I'm coming with you," Billy replied. "You're my friend and I wouldn't be a good friend to you or to Kimberly if I didn't follow you down into the pit even though I don't really want to make the leap."

Tommy smiled. "Thanks, Billy. It means a great deal to me that you're at my side."

Billy nodded. "Ready for the leap of faith?"

"Yes. On three," Tommy replied as he began to count to three. When he reached three, they both leapt into the pit with the Falconzord following close behind them. Their vision was restricted for a few seconds as they fell until they cleared the smoke and landed in another set of tunnels below. The smoke, as it had been in the pit, was green but this time it clung to their feet and both Tommy and Billy knew that something was very wrong with it. A growing sense of despair was overwhelming them and, up until they had come into contact with the green smoke, it hadn't even been on their minds at all.

"What if we are too late to save her?" Tommy blurted out suddenly as they stood there and looked around to check their surroundings. Billy turned to him. He was shocked that Tommy would even think such a thing.

"Don't ever think that, Tommy. We won't be too late to save Kimberly. What has gotten into you?" Billy replied.

Tommy shook his head. "It's this smoke Billy, I think. I'm suddenly awash with a sense of desperate despair which, up until we jumped into the pit, wasn't a problem for me at all before. Can't you feel it?"

Billy could feel the growing despair which was now building in his heart but he brushed it aside. "Yes, I can feel it but we've got to ignore it, Tommy, and keep searching this place for Kimberly. We've got to hope that she's still alive and that we're getting closer to her location."

Tommy nodded. "As always, Billy, you're right. We had better keep moving."

Both Tommy and Billy continued on down the tunnel and hoped with all their hearts that they were not too late to save Kimberly from the villain who had captured her.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early afternoon, a few minutes later_

The alarm had woken Zordon from his slumber almost as soon as it had went off.

"Alpha, report," Zordon commanded as he opened his eyes. For a few brief seconds, his vision was blurry as his eyes had to adjust to the change in lighting. When his vision returned to normal, he found that Cestria was at the console and that Alpha was nowhere in sight.

"Zordon, Alpha isn't here right now as he's busy running diagnostic checks on the Brachiozord outside," Cestria said gently. "The sensors indicate that evil is attempting to destroy the Corinth City energy plant and cripple the city shields. I'm bringing up live images on-screen for you right now."

As soon as the images appeared on screen, Zordon turned pale because he recognised the villain instantly. They were in trouble now.

Zordon hadn't expected a villain this powerful to appear just yet. Villains like Goldar and the White Ranger clone were, of course, dangerous but this villain, once feared throughout the galaxy, was a whole new test for the Power Rangers. She was more powerful than all of the major villains, except Venjix, Mesogog and Dai Shi, individually and she was also cunning, ruthless and extremely dangerous. Out of all the lesser generals, she was the last one whom he had wanted to see at this early stage of the war because of just how dangerous she was. However, she was also one of the generals which he wanted to be destroyed as soon as she appeared so that she wouldn't cause any more problems at a later stage in this war. They couldn't afford to allow her to escape as they couldn't allow her any time to adjust to her new environment or she would become even more dangerous later.

At that moment, the Power Rangers filtered into the Command Centre and all of them were watching the images on-screen.

"Who is that?" Scott asked as he watched her cause havoc over at the Corinth City energy plant. She was still in her golden armour and her sword still hung at her belt just as it had all those years ago. Zordon sighed.

"She is, unfortunately, Rangers, Scorpina. She used to be one of Rita's loyal henchmen and allies but she was destroyed during the release of my purifying energy when the Red Space Ranger, Andros, smashed my energy tube," Zordon replied grimly. "I had hoped that she wouldn't show herself until all of you had a chance to get used to having your powers again, and to working as a bigger team, but, alas, things cannot always turn out the way we want them to turn out at times. Scorpina is dangerous, cunning and ruthless, Power Rangers, so I warn you that you must be on your guard against her."

Zordon then stood up and looked directly to the Power Rangers. "This will be a challenge for you, Power Rangers, but, if I know anything about you, I know that you will be able to overcome the odds and take her out of the picture. Do not let her escape justice as Scorpina will only become a bigger problem later on if she is allowed any time to adjust to the ruined condition that this world is now in."

RJ nodded. "I'll do my best to protect them, Zordon. I know how dangerous these powerful lesser generals can be so I know that it won't be easy to get rid of her."

"Protect us? We'll be able to hold our own, RJ, and it will be Scorpina who'll need to be protected from us," Scott exclaimed overconfidently.

"Don't be overconfident, Scott," Dillon said quietly. "Scorpina will be dangerous."

"We agree with Dillon," Gem said.

"But we're still going to give Scorpina our best shot," Gemma added.

"That's all I can ask. I can only wish you good luck, Rangers," Zordon smiled sadly. Privately, to himself, he added. _You are all going to need a great deal of luck against Scorpina._

"Prepare for teleportation," Cestria said as she activated the controls. Seconds later, the Power Rangers vanished in a bright flash of coloured light.

Anton, who had been listening to everything that Zordon had said through the video link which had been activated as soon as the alarm had gone off, was grim. "Do you want me to come up to the Command Centre with Saba, Zordon?" he asked.

Zordon thought for a moment before he nodded in reply as he decided that it was likely that Anton, who had absolutely no experience as a Power Ranger but to whom Tommy had entrusted Saba and the Tiger Power Coin anyway, would be called upon to help the Power Rangers. Zordon knew that Tommy wouldn't have left Saba in Anton's care if he didn't think that Anton could hold his own in battle and use the Power wisely. Zordon just had to trust that Tommy's judgement was correct and that it wouldn't put everyone in greater danger.

"I'll be up in a minute," Anton promised as he shut down the video link to the Zord Construction Bay. Zordon sighed. Zordon hoped that he didn't have to send Anton to Corinth to aid the Power Rangers because, if he did, Zordon knew that Anton was unlikely to make that much of a difference in the battle against Scorpina.

_Somewhere in a Dark Dimension, early afternoon, at that very moment_

Tommy and Billy continued on down through another tunnel. This tunnel wasn't as long as the previous one and they were now beginning to see a cavern at the end of the tunnel. As they grew closer, it quickly became apparent to Tommy that they had found Kimberly at last. He could see the stone in the centre of the cavern from the vision which the Falconzord had given him but it wasn't until he entered the actual cavern with Billy at his side that he could see Kimberly lying there with her eyes closed.

She was even weaker than she had been in the vision but she was, crucially, still alive. Now that Tommy could see the full extent of her injuries, he was even angrier than he had been earlier about the way this villain had treated her. Her almost ghostly paleness suggested to them both that she would need medical attention soon. At that moment, he silently renewed his vow that the villain who did this to her would pay dearly at his hands for this crime.

"Kimberly," Tommy called to her. He was relieved that they still had a chance to save her. To his surprise, as he hadn't expected her to respond, her eyes snapped open and she tilted her head ever so slightly in his direction.

"Tommy," she replied weakly with a relieved smile, "You came."

"Just like I promised," Tommy smiled back as he attempted to go to her but, before he could reach her, Rito Revolto, Rita's incompetent skeletal brother, leapt down from his hiding place, clinging to a stalactite hanging from the cavern roof high above them, and barred his path.

"Rito," Tommy said grimly as he got into a fighting stance. "I wondered when you would show up. I've got to hand it to you, you were the villain which I least expected to find behind this plot."

"I thought that this would get your attention, Tommy Oliver. After I was revived yesterday, I decided that I would destroy you by myself so that I can become my father's favourite offspring. Master Vile is rather angry about Rita's defection to your side right now so I thought that I would cheer him up by destroying a Power Ranger," Rito replied.

"Get out of my way, Rito," Tommy warned. Rito laughed at this as he produced a skeletal sword and Tommy knew that he would have to fight Rito to get to Kimberly but, just as Rito charged at him, Tommy suddenly had an idea to get Kimberly away from him.

"Billy! Get Kimberly, take the Falconzord and go," Tommy shouted as he entered a struggle with Rito. Tommy was barely holding Rito's sword off so he hoped that Billy would hurry up. Billy was hesitant for a second as the Falconzord drained Tommy's energy again to grow back to full size but, as he looked into Kimberly's eyes, he did follow Tommy's instructions. He dodged Rito, collected Kimberly from the stone and rushed to the Falconzord. At that moment, Tommy gasped as he was forcibly powered down from the form of the White Ranger which left him vulnerable to Rito's sword. He flinched visibly as he also felt a sharp pain course up his body which weakened him even further.

"Tommy!" Kimberly cried out in warning just as Billy was about to attempt to flee the dark dimension. Her cry distracted Tommy for a brief second and this gave Rito the chance which he needed to strike him down. He struck with a powerful slash and Tommy tumbled away after he was struck. As he tumbled away, he connected both halves of his Zeonizer.

"It's Morphin' Time!" he called as he made the connection. "Zeo Ranger V, Red."

He morphed and got back to his feet. Then, he called for his Zeo Sword. "Billy, go!" Tommy exclaimed as he and Rito continued their struggle.

"But what about you?" Billy exclaimed as the Falconzord began to glow the same eerie green colour as earlier.

"I'll use the Power Coin to follow right behind you," Tommy vowed as he continued to hold off Rito. At that moment, Rito broke free and leapt towards the Falconzord to strike its wings in an attempt to prevent it from escaping. Tommy leapt after Rito quickly and continued to struggle with him on the wings to prevent him from doing too much damage to the Falconzord. At that moment, the green glow intensified around the Falconzord and it vanished from the dark dimension with both Tommy and Rito still doing battle on its wings.

_Corinth City, Corinth City Energy Plant, early afternoon, several minutes ago_

The Power Rangers lay on the ground and clawed the dirt again in an attempt to get to their feet as Scorpina stood, unimpressed, nearby. Scorpina, as Zordon had rightly warned, was powerful, dangerous and extremely cunning in their battle. No matter what they had tried in an attempt to destroy her, she had been one step ahead of them and had managed to thwart all of their attempts. RJ had almost succeeded during two attempts to finish her off in the quick skirmish but, each time, she had used other Power Rangers as a shield which meant that he had unintentionally aided her because his attacks had caused the Power Rangers which he had struck to power down. In the end, he had been the last Ranger standing but she had been able to take care of him easily because he had been no match for her despite his valiant effort.

Now, they were staring destruction in the face and it didn't look likely that they would escape her next attack.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early afternoon, several minutes ago, at that very moment_

Anton turned to Zordon as Zordon sighed. Saba was beginning to get rather excited about the prospect of some action and was trembling quite badly.

"It's time, Anton Mercer," Zordon said simply.

"I know, Zordon. I might not be very much use to them but I'll try my best to help them where I can. I learned some martial arts from Tommy a long time ago but whether what I know will be useful or not remains to be seen," Anton said.

"Mercer, we'll kick butt! Don't worry about it," Saba reassured. Anton sighed.

"Prepare for teleportation, Anton Mercer. I wish you luck," Zordon warned. He nodded as he held Saba tightly at his side and closed his eyes. Seconds later, Cestria activated the teleport controls and Anton vanished in a flash of white light.

_Corinth City, Corinth City Energy Plant, early afternoon, several minutes ago_

"Power Rangers, I'll destroy you in the name of Zedd, my master," Scorpina growled. "Prepare for your demise!"

She raised her hand to deliver an energy strike and, just as the blue energy bolt hurtled towards the Power Rangers, who were still lying on the ground, Anton appeared in flash of white light to aid them. He raised Saba to block the attack and, as the energy bolt reached Saba, it caught the energy against its blade before dispersing it harmlessly above them where it couldn't cause any damage.

"Not today, Scorpina," Anton replied. "Today, your destruction is immanent."

She laughed. "At your hands? Foolish human, you've got no idea what you are getting yourself into by obstructing my revenge!"

"Maybe not but I'm sure that I'm probably about to find out," Anton admitted as he held Saba at the ready whilst Scorpina attacked. He parried her blows and they fought back and forth, back and forth, with neither of them having an advantage as they were more evenly matched. Finally, Scorpina managed to land a blow which struck Anton's left arm which held Saba. The blow injuring him badly enough to force him to drop the saber.

"Dad!" Trent instantly cried out in warning. Anton reeled away from Scorpina as he clutched his arm before she could strike him again. Blood was now seeping through his sleeve and he grimaced as he backed away slightly from her. He was defenceless without Saba and she knew it.

"Have you had enough?" Scorpina asked. Anton growled.

"Not yet, Scorpina," Anton replied as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the Tiger Power Coin. Silently, he thought to himself, _I hope that you're not using the White Ranger form, Tommy. I never thought that I would have to use this..._

"Dad! Don't!" Trent exclaimed as he tried to get back up. "It's just too risky!"

Of course, Anton knew that it was risky to use the Tiger Power Coin. Tommy hadn't needed to warn Anton of the dangers of using the Tiger Power Coin, if it was absolutely necessary, before he had left with Billy because Anton knew of all of them anyway as they were all pretty much common sense. He also knew that this would be a desperate last chance attempt to change the odds so it was rather unlikely to succeed. However, he had to try to save the Power Rangers behind him from destruction.

Tommy hadn't taught him how to use it either. If Alpha hadn't kindly instructed him on how to use it, Anton would never even be considering using the Power Coin at this moment as he faced likely destruction at Scorpina's hands. Anton closed his eyes.

_Please, let this work. Please. _Anton prayed silently as he held the Power Coin out and opened his eyes again.

"You made the mistake of coming here, Scorpina, to destroy. Tommy may not be here but I'm here and I certainly won't be standing by, doing nothing, whilst you cause destruction in Corinth. I've got a Power Coin, which was left in my care, so prepare for the odds to tip in my favour, Scorpina," Anton warned. He paused for a moment.

"Tigerzord!" he called moments later as he activated the morpher.

Then, there was a flash of brilliant white light, which blinded all who watched temporarily, as the ground shook. At this moment in the dark dimension, Tommy was forcibly powered down and the temporary transfer of his White Ranger powers to Anton left him in great pain. In amongst the white light, Anton morphed and Saba returned to him. He was still injured but the Power flowing through his veins eased his pain so that he could fight on.

It was a strange experience for Anton. Now, he knew the reason why Tommy had once said long ago, after the destruction of Mesogog, that the Power was like a drug. He felt it flowing through his veins and it strengthened his courage to the point that he felt that he could handle anything that evil threw at him. As Tommy had often said back then, this was a dangerous feeling as it had the potential to destroy him but Anton indulged in it for a brief second. Then, as the light cleared, he brushed it aside.

The exclamations of shock from the Power Rangers, who hadn't believed it would work, were ignored by Anton. His injury was ignored. His surroundings were ignored.

He was only focusing on one thing, one person, at that moment. Scorpina.

Scorpina was angry. "You're a fool to continue to defy me. I'll destroy you!"

"You'll try," Anton countered.

She attacked again and, with Saba's help, Anton managed to strike her in the chest several times. Eventually, she stumbled back and hissed at him in fury.

"Fool! Now, you've just made me mad!" she hissed as she began to grow to full size. She became much more like a monster as she became much uglier and, now, she resembled a scorpion in appearance. Anton grimaced. She wasn't going to admit defeat easily so he would now have to use the Tigerzord to make sure that she didn't cause too much damage. This would be even riskier than using the morpher as it would require absolute concentration on his part to make it work. The communication system in the suit suddenly came on-line at that moment.

"Anton, I'm releasing the Tigerzord," Cestria warned through the communication link. "You must let Scorpina destroy the energy plant."

"Right," Anton replied hesitantly. He was slightly daunted by the difficult task ahead of him. Stopping Scorpina from destroying the Power Rangers had been a challenge but stopping her from destroying the energy plant would be an even greater challenge. She had already caused some minor damage when the Power Rangers had disastrously confronted her but he knew that she could cause some major damage now, even if she landed just one small blow, as she was so powerful in this form. However, Anton knew that the form of the White Ranger was just as powerful as Scorpina. He also knew that they would be able to stop her with the Tigerzord. As it leapt through the shields, Anton leapt onto the Tigerzord's back with Saba. The Power Rangers scrambled to their feet to watch the battle and all of them hoped that Anton could destroy Scorpina before she did any more damage.

The Tigerzord dodged her as she attempted to strike it down with another blue energy bolt. Then, Anton instantly struck back. The Tigerzord clawed at her and it managed to knock the sword out of her hands which rendered Scorpina defenceless.

"Mercer, we must be quick. Finish her!" Saba urged as they dodged another energy bolt. Anton nodded. He was determined to make this his contribution to the war, which was only just beginning, and Scorpina wasn't going to get away from him. He took Saba into the cockpit and plunged him into the slot.

"Activate Warrior Mode," Anton commanded Saba as he reached down to the crystal sitting in the cockpit and prepared for the final attack. The Tigerzord then shifted into the warrior mode and it clutched its golden sword in one hand as it stood ready to deliver the final attack. "Prepare for your destruction, Scorpina, as it seems that you've lost more than just this battle today."

"Do it now, Mercer, before she escapes!" Saba exclaimed.

"White Tiger Thunderbolt!" Anton said as he activated the final attack. Scorpina tried to escape but she reacted too late to avoid the extremely powerful white thunderbolt which struck her down. Then, there was a massive explosion and once it had subsided Scorpina had been destroyed.

Above them, there was a flash of green light and the Falconzord burst back through another dimensional doorway it had created to escape the dark dimension. This was closed behind the Falconzord, with the original doorway, by Cestria at that moment at Zordon's command. After that moment, confusion descended upon Corinth City and the Power Rangers.

_Corinth City, In The Skies Beneath The Dome But Above the City, early afternoon, current time_

It was a miracle that Tommy and Rito had both managed to survive travelling through the dimensional doorway. Tommy attributed his survival to the section of the Zeo Crystal that he had in the Zeonizer, which was now glowing brightly, but he didn't have a clue how Rito had managed it as the dimensional doorway which the Falconzord had created was entirely different from the doorways that Rito would have to use to travel between dimensions. However, Tommy didn't dwindle on that thought as he fought on.

They continued their struggle and neither of them noticed, despite the fact the Falconzord was squawking urgently, that they were rapidly losing altitude because Billy and Kimberly were unconscious in the cockpit so no one was steering the Zord upwards. Additionally, the wings of the Falconzord had been badly damaged so it was now struggling to slow its descent to give Tommy time to get rid of Rito and to get in control of the Zord before it crashed. It was only as it grew closer to the buildings, and as Tommy disarmed Rito, that both of them became aware of this fact.

"Goodbye, Tommy. We'll settle this another day if you survive this," Rito cackled as he leapt off the Falconzord to safety and fled. At that moment, Tommy couldn't care less about Rito's escape as there were other more important priorities for him. He leapt straight into the cockpit and pushed an unconscious Billy out of the way so that he could access the controls. Then, he began to desperately make an attempt to steer the Falconzord to a safe landing.

Until the Zord controls suddenly short-circuited, Tommy had some success. However, as soon as the controls were destroyed, the Falconzord began a rapid descent. When Tommy checked, it was heading directly towards a skyscraper below with only a few seconds until impact. And there wasn't anything he could do to stop it now.

Tommy braced himself for impact. There didn't appear to be any escape from this doom.

Except, there was. At the very last second, the Tigerzord leapt from a nearby building and secured the Falconzord in its powerful jaws. Tommy cut all power instantly in response to this to prevent the Falconzord from escaping the Tigerzord's grip. On the viewing screen, Anton appeared and he was still in the form of the White Ranger.

"Need a hand?" he asked with a smile behind the helmet. Tommy laughed in relief.

"Anton, you've really got good timing, you know?" he asked. "Thanks, I thought that I was done for there."

"No problem. Did you find her?" Anton asked.

Tommy nodded. "Yes, we found Kimberly. Just take us back to the Brachiozord, Anton, as the Falconzord is badly damaged and both Billy and Kimberly are unconscious over here," he replied.

Anton smiled. "Right away. Just hold tight, Tommy, as it might get a little bumpy."

_The Moon, Zedd and Rita's palace, early afternoon, at that exact moment_

Zedd, who had watched Scorpina's destruction and Rito's failure through the telescope on the balcony, was angry. He had just lost another of his best generals and Rito, Rita's incompetent brother, had failed Zedd as he usually did. Finster was still hard at work creating another monster, with Squatt and Baboo's help, but it was likely that it was going to take them a while so, until then, Zedd would just have to amuse himself by watching the other villains make their attempts to destroy the Power Rangers.

What Zedd was struggling to understand was the fact that Tommy Oliver had actually left his morpher in the care of someone else and that the person he left it with, despite being an absolute novice and a temporary Ranger, had been good enough to destroy Scorpina. Firstly, Tommy had never dared to trust anyone that much, unless they were a former Power Ranger, before. Secondly, the odds of the novice's success, especially against Scorpina, made Scorpina's destruction seem impossible yet the novice had overcome those odds to destroy her.

Was it fate? Or was there another power involved with his success? Or was there something he was overlooking or knew not?

Zedd didn't know.

What he did know was that he would have to find out. The last two questions which were at the forefront of his mind seemed the more likely ones and Zedd resolved to investigate this matter further to find out the answer to his doubts.

As he turned and left the balcony, he thought of Rita again. His love of her had managed to get past the evil side of him once again and it now left him with great sorrow as it made him feel uneasy in this great palace all by himself. As before, though, he quickly buried it underneath the scheming evil side of him which was currently thinking up future schemes which he could implement to destroy the Power Rangers.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early afternoon, several minutes later_

The Power Rangers returned to the Command Centre in a flash of light. Trent instantly looked around for his father.

"Your father has just arrived. He's likely to be down in the Ninjazord hangar with Tommy," Zordon assured Trent before he could ask. Trent nodded.

"Thanks, Zordon," Trent said as he rushed away with RJ close behind him. The other Power Rangers followed after them both down the corridor.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ninjazord hangar, early afternoon, at that moment_

Anton powered down and leapt out of the Tigerzord with Saba and the Tiger Power Coin in hand. Seconds later, Tommy came out of the damaged Falconzord. He had also powered down and was struggling to carry Billy out of the cockpit.

"Here, Tommy, I'll take him," Anton said quickly as he went to help his friend. Billy was still morphed but it was clear to them that he was unconscious. Billy was also heavier than Anton expected so Anton, with his injury, struggled to hold him. However, he didn't say anything to Tommy about how difficult it was as Tommy went back in to fetch Kimberly.

The tender way that Tommy moved Kimberly's hair away from her pale face as he exited the Falconzord told Anton a lot of things. It was clear that Tommy had feelings for her but Anton had never seen such deep devotion in a long time. Although Tommy would never admit it, it was clear that he would do anything for her no matter how dangerous or risky it was.

"We need to get them to the infirmary. They'll need medical treatment soon," Tommy said quietly as Anton winced as the pain in his arm fully returned. "And so will you."

At that moment, Dr K. and Tenaya 15 entered carrying the equipment which was designed specially to repair Zords.

"Leave us with the Falconzord, gentleman. By utilising my nanotechnology, and the available equipment, it should not take too long to repair the Falconzord. Now, go tend to the injured and leave us in peace to work," Dr K. assured.

Tommy nodded as he and Anton left. Then, they began to make their way to the infirmary and towards help for Billy and Kimberly.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, early afternoon, a few minutes later_

The infirmary ward wasn't as dull grey and boring as Anton expected it to be as he and Tommy entered. The walls were awash with sky blue paint and the beds, along with everything else in the ward, were crisp white, clean and fresh. Tommy quickly lowered Kimberly onto one of the beds quickly before he went over to a computer terminal as Anton lowered Billy onto another bed nearby and removed Billy's helmet. Then, Anton placed the helmet on a nearby table.

As soon as the helmet was out the way, it was clear that Billy had sustained a nasty cut to the forehead so he would likely be unconscious for a while. Anton, who up until this point had been paying little attention to what Tommy was up to, turned to see what he was doing over at the computer terminal.

"Tommy, what are you up to?" Anton asked.

Tommy turned to him with a smile on his face. "I'm calling up our resident doctor, Anton."

Seconds later, as Trent and RJ ran in with the other Power Rangers close behind, a panel of the wall at the back of the ward slid upwards and, amongst the smoke that billowed out as the panel slid upwards, out came a beautiful blonde woman wearing the typical blue outfit of a nurse on a ward.

"Who is that?" Anton asked Tommy.

"I'm IRMA, Intelligent Robotic Medical Assistant, at your service," she replied with a warm smile. "Please confirm the patients needing medical treatment."

"Kimberly and Billy on the beds and Anton here," Tommy replied gesturing to the injured. IRMA nodded.

"I'll see to them straight away. Starting with you, Anton Mercer. Sit," she commanded as she pulled up a chair from her storage compartment. Anton sat instantly. He was slightly startled by IRMA's commanding presence as IRMA checked out the cut on his arm. Then, she proceeded into a massive storage cupboard to get the equipment required to treat it.

She came back with bandages, stitches, some cotton wool and disinfectant.

"It's not too serious but it'll still need stitches to prevent infection. Please hold still," she said as she cleaned up his wound using the disinfectant. Anton winced and tried to hold still but he couldn't help but fidget slightly as she used a built in needle with the stitches to sew his wound shut. Trent was sniggering because he couldn't believe that his father couldn't stay still for a few brief seconds so that IRMA could tend to him.

Once she was done, IRMA turned her attention to Billy after she had thrown Anton out of the ward with the other Power Rangers so that they could go get cleaned up as they were extremely dirty and IRMA didn't want them bringing infection onto her ward. Only Tommy was allowed to stay and watch but Anton returned Saba and the Tiger Power Coin to him before he left.

The cut on Billy's forehead, although it looked nasty, wasn't actually very deep so IRMA only had to stem the blood before she then cleaned the wound.

"Billy will wake in a while. He'll have a headache for a few days but he should be all right," she assured him.

When she at last came to Kimberly, IRMA recognised instantly that Kimberly was the worse of her patients. She was barely still alive and, to top things off, she was likely to be in a coma. IRMA went straight for a drip and fluids before connecting her up to several monitors to monitor her vital signs.

"She's very lucky to still be alive," IRMA remarked as she turned to him.

"Will she ever wake up, IRMA?" Tommy asked.

"It all depends on how strong she is, Tommy. She might wake up soon or she might be out for a while. I won't lie to you, Tommy, Kimberly has a small possibility of never waking up," IRMA replied. "She is, however, in good hands here in my ward. I'll look after her as long as she needs me to."

Tommy nodded and then looked away. "IRMA, I'll be back soon. I guess I had better go tell everyone about what is going on," he said grimly. He then turned and left the ward to find everyone else.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early afternoon, several minutes later_

They had gathered in the main Command Centre and they were all talking amongst themselves when Tommy entered. However, everyone fell silent as Tommy cleared his throat.

"IRMA, my friend Hayley's project to create a robotic medical assistant which looked and acted human, informs me that Billy will live for certain," Tommy said quietly. "He will return to consciousness soon and, when he does, everyone will probably hear about it. As for Kimberly, there's a strong chance that she'll wake up eventually but there's also a small chance that she might never wake up. I, however, believe that she'll wake soon as Kimberly is strong and she has pulled through events that were much worse than this before. I also refuse to accept that she'll give up on life that easily."

"IRMA is a bit like Mack, before the Sentinel Knight made him human, I mean," Kira said. Tommy nodded.

"IRMA was based on the stolen plans Hayley took from Hartford industries for Mack and other cyborgs. She has the knowledge of medical experts in all fields of medical treatment. She hasn't been tested beyond the theoretical tests so, if she has any flaws, I don't know about them," Tommy replied. "I kept her because I knew that Hayley wouldn't like her best work to be destroyed and because I felt that being a Power Ranger is so dangerous that we'd need a doctor on site to tend to our worst injuries. Zordon may be a great healer but I don't think that he should be called upon all the time unless the injuries are life threatening."

"Tommy, I will see what I can do for Kimberly right away," Zordon vowed.

"No, Zordon, not until it becomes likely that she won't survive without your intervention. You drained yourself quite a great deal yesterday between healing Kira, my jaw and re-energising morphers so you'll need to rest to recover from that. IRMA is treating Kimberly and, if she gets worse, you'll be the first one to hear about her deterioration. Then, you'll be called upon to help her," Tommy said before he asked, "Where's Alpha?"

"He's outside running diagnostic checks on the exterior of the Falconzord, Tommy," Cestria replied. "Dr K. has just requested some help with the Falconzord repairs as she needs several more pairs of hands to get the repairs finished quickly so that she can go back to the reconstruction of the Triceratops Dinozord."

"I'll go," Anton replied.

"We'll help," Gem and Gemma chirped.

"And what about the rest of us? What are we meant to do?" Scott asked.

"Now, we wait," Tommy replied simply.

_Outside Corinth City, Outside the Brachiozord Command Centre, early afternoon, at that very moment_

The explosion caught Alpha by surprise as he just finished the diagnostic checks on the Brachiozord. So far, everything had been quiet otherwise and, for a moment, he believed that he was under attack from evil.

However, he was greatly surprised when he turned to find that a prisoner truck had just smashed into the Command Centre. It hadn't caused any damage, because of the fact the Brachiozord Command Centre was made from a strong titanium compound that could easily withstand such blows, but Alpha still had the Brachiozord hose it down using its inbuilt fire extinguisher system. Then, he approached the wreckage to see if anyone had survived or not.

When he saw them lying there, Alpha couldn't decide whether they were alive or dead. However, as they groaned and stirred from where they lay, Alpha realised that he recognised them both from somewhere. It wasn't until they spoke that he realised where.

"What happened?" the leanest of the two of them asked.

"Welcome to Corinth City, Bulk and Skull," Alpha greeted. "You've had a lucky escape there."


	11. Chapter 8: The Waiting Game

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 8: The Waiting Game

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, mid-afternoon_

Tommy sat quietly at Kimberly's bedside. There were still no signs of either Kimberly or Billy arousing from their unconsciousness and this worried Tommy a little. On a more positive note, he was glad to be able to finally get some rest as he waited at Kimberly's bedside because of the fact that today had taxed his strength considerably.

IRMA, to his surprise, was typing up notes at the computer terminal as he looked over to her. She was also simultaneously familiarising herself with the medical records for the Power Rangers, and their associated non-Rangers, who were currently residing in the Brachiozord. As Tommy sighed, she looked up from her work at him.

"Tommy, are you all right?" she asked with concern laced in her voice. Tommy smiled sadly back at her.

"No, I'm not," he replied truthfully. "IRMA, do you think that they will recover from this?"

IRMA smiled. "I know that Billy will live but, as for Kimberly, I..." Her expression altered to one of sadness as her smile vanished. Tommy knew exactly what she didn't want to say to him; Kimberly was an entirely different matter. Whether she was going to survive or not was still unclear to them both.

Tommy, though, tried to be optimistic about Kimberly's survival chances. "I won't give up on her. I've still got to believe that Kimberly will wake up soon, IRMA."

IRMA's smile returned again because of Tommy's strong optimism. "Yes, Tommy, all we can do is hope that she'll make it," she agreed.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ninjazord hangar, mid-afternoon_

The essential repairs on the Falconzord continued down in the Ninjazord hangar. Most of the external and internal damage to the wings had now been repaired but the work on the intricate, and burnt to a crisp in most places, circuitry inside the Zord was just about to begin as Dr K. ran a diagnostics check to assess how the repairs were going.

"Repairs have fixed 60% of the damage to the Falconzord," Dr K. informed them as Gem and Gemma took off an exterior panel so that they could reach the main section of the damaged circuitry. On the other side of the Falconzord, Anton and Tenaya 15 took off the other panel and all of them began to examine the circuitry. As the extent of the damage became clear to them, they grimaced as it didn't look good at all. Most of the wires were broken in half and several of the main circuit boards had been burnt beyond repair. The worst one affected, the most complicated and most important of all the circuit boards, was the Zord controls circuit and they knew that their only option was to replace it because of how badly damaged the majority of it was.

"Dr K., it's going to take a great deal of work to repair the damage to the circuitry by the looks of things," Tenaya 15 said critically as she examined the damage. "Most of the circuits will have to be ripped out and replaced because they're just too badly damaged to repair. Then, once we've replaced them, we'll have to test all of the systems one by one to make sure that they're working correctly."

"It looks likely that it's going to be a rather difficult task which could take us until the end of the day to complete," Anton added.

"How long it takes us to repair the damage is irrelevant. If it takes us until the end of the day to finish the repairs then we won't stop working on the Falconzord until the repairs are complete. We've got to repair the damage done to the Falconzord as quickly as we possibly can so that it's fully functional and available for use because evil could, if it wanted to, strike at any moment now. After repairing this Zord, we can get back to the work on the Triceratops Dinozord," Dr K. snapped.

"K.!" Gemma said disapprovingly.

"Be nice," Gem added.

There was silence for a few seconds before Tenaya 15, with a sigh, left to collect the materials which she had calculated they would require to fix the Falconzord's circuitry. After she was gone, Gem and Gemma began to grow uncomfortable with the silence in the room as they started to help Anton remove the burnt circuitry. In an attempt to start an interesting conversation, Gemma decided to say the first thing that came into her head out loud.

"Will Tommy be ok? He seemed sad when he told us about Kimberly," Gemma asked as she removed one of the fried circuit boards.

"Yeah he did, didn't he?" Gem agreed after he took a short moment to think about her words before he spoke as he managed to remove the Zord Controls circuit.

"He'll be fine," Anton assured them both. Gem and Gemma both nodded in reply which suggested to him that they believed his assurances. To be honest, though, Anton wasn't sure if he believed himself any more because he wasn't sure if he knew anything about Tommy Oliver at all. He had known Tommy for many years but, up until today whilst they were in the Ninjazord hangar together, Anton had never seen him act the way that he did towards Kimberly before.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Dino Thunder base, mid-afternoon_

They had returned to "_Power Rangers: The Journeys_" almost as soon as they had returned to the Brachiozord because all of them had found nothing better to do with themselves.

Ziggy, Kira and Trent had unanimously agreed to continue playing on from the point where the game had been shut down by the system. Now, several minutes later, they were enjoying themselves quite a great deal as they started to get back into the game. Kira and Trent were playing better than they had the last time, as they had now become used to the controls, but Ziggy was still dominating the game with the highest score and the best moves out of the three of them.

"Take that putties!" Ziggy exclaimed as he took out another group of putties that had surrounded Zack in the game during another battle with evil.

From where she sat, Summer was extremely curious about the game as she watched the three of them playing it. Normally, she wouldn't be at all interested in computer games but this game was an entirely different matter. It was an exact history of the Power Rangers, from the Original Power Rangers to the RPM Power Rangers, without anything added to, or taken away from, what had actually happened to each group of the Power Rangers. Summer, like most of the Power Rangers who weren't part of the Original team, wanted to know the entire story. She wanted to know about their entire legacy, from beginning to end, and she wanted to be able to understand what it truly meant to be a Power Ranger. Of course, defeating evil and saving innocents were part of this meaning but they weren't the only parts to being a Power Ranger because there was, in reality, so much more to the job but Summer still couldn't quite understand what other things there were.

Kira and Trent were slightly annoyed at Ziggy as he celebrated the fact that he was winning by doing a strange little victory dance despite the fact everyone was staring at him. Summer, however, just smiled at this as it had been a long time since Summer had really seen Ziggy enjoying himself, because, after all, Ziggy had been on the run for double-crossing Fresno Bob for most of his active service, and his happiness lifted her spirits just for a moment. She forgot everything that was happening now because being there to Summer, as she watched them play, felt like she was just a normal person spending some time with friends. However, the full weight of the burden of being a Power Ranger soon returned which caused her warm smile to vanish again.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Training Gym, mid-afternoon_

Scott and Flynn continued to work through the basic stances of a Pai Zhua cub by following RJ's examples of the techniques and had already begun to master the basics. They had been training for several hours without any rest but neither of them were complaining about the exhaustion that they were beginning to feel to RJ. This fact quite impressed him as Cubs at their level usually did do a great deal of complaining and didn't usually show the high level of discipline that they were both showing to him during this lesson until much further into their training to become Pai Zhua Masters.

"Very good, gentlemen," RJ said with a smile as he decided to make things more difficult. He showed them a slightly more difficult move, an aerial spin dodge which happened to also be Trent's morphing sequence, and challenged them to give it a try. Neither Scott nor Flynn could manage it and Dillon, who had just entered the Training Gym as they made their attempts, couldn't help but chuckle at their attempts. RJ turned sharply to him.

"Forgive me, master, for my intrusion," Dillon said as he bowed his head in a gesture of respect towards RJ before he approached them. "May I?"

"Go ahead," RJ replied with a gesture to him to make an attempt. Dillon nodded.

He made sure that he had enough space to execute the move before he pulled it off flawlessly and landed in the correct position without injuring himself.

Scott and Flynn stood staring at Dillon in shock and were unable to say anything because they hadn't expected Dillon to pull it off. RJ, however, just smiled as he had learned quite quickly as a Pai Zhua Master to never judge a book by its cover.

"Will you honour me, Dillon, by allowing me to test your skills?" he asked formally. Dillon nodded.

"I won't go easy on you," Dillon warned as he got into a battle stance. Scott and Flynn quickly got out of the way, by moving to stand by the door, to allow RJ and Dillon room to fight each other and to make sure that they didn't get hurt during the battle between them both.

Both RJ and Dillon circled each other until, eventually, Dillon struck first to start their fight. Blows were dodged, and landed, by both sides but, after a while, RJ decided to resort to the same trick that he had employed when he had fought against Scott and Flynn because he has realised that this battle could go on forever as they were so equally matched. He leapt back out of Dillon's reach before Dillon could realise what he was about to do and prepared to unleash his animal spirit against Dillon to see how he would handle it.

"Call to the spirit within, unleash the Wolf!" RJ called as he unleashed his Wolf spirit.

"Look out, Dillon!" Scott exclaimed. Flynn turned away as he was unable to watch as the Wolf leapt towards Dillon. At that moment, it seemed like the battle was over.

"That's going to hurt," Flynn grimaced. Dillon, however, was unafraid. He quickly erected an invincibility shield to protect himself and the Wolf spirit bounced harmlessly off the invincibility shield as it attacked him. RJ couldn't help but smile about Dillon's ingenious response to his attack and he could see that Dillon was much more like the wolf than he realised.

"Enough," RJ said to end the battle. "I've seen enough of your skills, Dillon, and I must say that I'm impressed. Both Scott and Flynn would do well to take lessons from you because you're proof that having the skills and being prepared for the unexpected will change the odds in battle towards your favour."

"Thank you, RJ," Dillon replied. "If it's all right with you, I wish to join your lesson today so that I can improve my technique a little further."

"You're welcome to, Dillon. Maybe I should have started with something slightly easier as it seems that I made things too difficult for both Scott and Flynn. We'll go through the Wolf stances first and deal with the more complex stances later," RJ assured politely. "Just follow my lead as usual."

He then quickly entered the stances of the Wolf and, after watching him for a moment, Dillon, Flynn and Scott quickly followed his lead. These were the easiest stances for RJ because he was a Wolf Master so he found his rhythm quickly and his students soon managed to do the same. As he continued through the stances, RJ thought of his former students, and Dominic, and vowed to himself that he would find them no matter where they were in the world at that moment. His guilt about leaving them behind, because his Wolf spirit had forced him to survive, was great but he vowed also that he would make it up to them and that he would never let his Wolf spirit force him to flee from their side in times of great need again.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ninjazord hangar, mid-afternoon_

"Repairs have now fixed 75% of the damage to the Falconzord. We've got to keep going," Dr K. said as she ran the diagnostic checks again after they had just replaced some of the fried circuitry and had removed all of the burnt boards.

"Dr K., can you come over here to help me with the Zord Controls circuit? I don't know where I should be linking this wire up to," Anton asked as he looked up over the Falconzord to her from where he was working to connect up the Zord Controls circuit to the rest of the main circuits. He had a look of utter confusion on his face. She nodded in reply.

"Yes, what seems to be the problem?" she asked as she went over to help him with a smile on her face.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-afternoon_

Cestria was at the console using the technology of the Brachiozord to search for any former Power Rangers as Alpha entered the Command Centre with two men following him close behind. They were looking around in awe and Zordon, who turned his head to see what the commotion was, shook his head as he recognised them both almost instantaneously.

"Well, well, well... Bulk and Skull. I never expected to see both of you again," Zordon said. "Fate has been kind to both of you indeed."

"I'm sorry, Zordon, but I had to bring them in here after I heard their tale for myself. The contents of their tale concerned me so much that I felt that you had to hear about what has happened to them over the last day or two," Alpha replied.

"You know of us both?" Bulk asked in surprise.

"Who can forget both of you? I, like my Power Rangers, used to often find your antics amusing," Zordon smiled as he gestured to them. "Please, I wish to hear your tale."

Both Bulk and Skull quickly told Zordon everything about how they arrived in Corinth. At the very end, Zordon was rather grim as he stood up to go to Cestria's side.

"Fetch Tommy, Cestria. He must be told of this news at once," Zordon commanded.

"He's definitely here?" Bulk and Skull said in unison. Cestria nodded.

"At once, Zordon," she replied instantly before she quickly hurried away to the Infirmary to fetch him.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, mid-afternoon_

As Billy began to stir, Tommy quickly scrambled out of the chair to go to his bedside and IRMA followed close behind him. Tommy hoped that he hadn't imagined it when he had seen Billy turn his head ever so slightly as he sat there otherwise he would be bitterly disappointed with himself for getting his own hopes up.

"Billy," Tommy said softly. "Come on, Billy, wake up."

At that moment, Billy shot up into a sitting position as he opened his eyes and groaned.

"What happened?" he asked Tommy after he had taken a few moments to adjust to the unfamiliar surroundings.

"You were knocked out during the travel between dimensions, Billy. Rito fought against me on the wings of the Falconzord but he managed to escape before I could stop him. We wouldn't be here right now if Anton hadn't used my morpher, and the Tigerzord, to rescue us because Rito seriously damaged the Falconzord which led to it almost crashing into a building. Scorpina appeared whilst we were in the dark dimension and Anton destroyed her but, apart from these things, you haven't missed much," Tommy replied before he added as an afterthought. "Oh, and this is IRMA, our resident cyborg and medical expert, if you were wondering where she came from."

Billy nodded.

"And Kimberly?" he asked with concern. Tommy moved aside to reveal that she was still lying on the bed unconscious behind him.

"She's still in a really bad way but I still hope that she'll make it," Tommy replied quietly.

Billy frowned before he quickly looked away from her again as he couldn't bear the sight of his old friend in such a bad state.

"At least she's still alive," Billy said finally.

He powered down at that moment just as Cestria rushed in to tell Tommy that Zordon wanted him. When she saw that Billy was awake, she embraced her husband fondly and kissed him on the cheek.

"My husband, I'm glad to see that you're awake," she smiled before she turned to Tommy. "I've got urgent news, Tommy. Zordon wants you to come to the Command Centre immediately."

"What has happened?" Tommy asked.

"I'm not supposed to tell you, Tommy. You've got to go up to the main Command Centre immediately to find out for yourself. It might be best that Billy goes with you as well," Cestria replied evasively. "Don't worry, I'll stay with Kimberly until you return."

As Billy got off of his bed, Tommy sighed. "We had better go see why Zordon wants me. It must be something important, which he doesn't want the others to know about, if he sent you to fetch me and didn't just use the inbuilt communications system instead."

They both left at that moment but, before he vanished down the corridor, Tommy stopped to take one last look at Kimberly's peaceful face in case it was the last time he ever saw it.

"He really cares for her, doesn't he?" IRMA asked as soon as he as he vanished. Cestria nodded.

"Yes, I think that Tommy really does care for Kimberly too. My husband often told me that he had never seen anyone else who were as close as they were. Billy could never understand why they split up in the first place because it was clear to everyone around them that they were made for each other," Cestria replied quietly. "Tommy's feelings for her are starting to emerge again but we won't know if their feelings for each other are mutual or not until Kimberly wakes up."

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late afternoon_

As soon as Tommy entered the Command Centre, his expression lit up and he smiled as he saw Bulk and Skull waiting for him. Billy, however, groaned as the distant memory of their persecution of him during his high school years came back to the forefront of his mind.

"Tommy," Bulk greeted. Tommy embraced the pair of them fondly.

"Bulk, Skull, it's really nice to see you guys again," he replied. "After everything that had happened over the past two years, I never expected to see both of you ever again."

"The feeling is mutual, Tommy. The word across the labour camps was that you were dead," Bulk replied.

"Yeah," Skull added in agreement before both of them turned their attention to Billy.

"We never expected to find out that you were a Power Ranger, Billy, but it's nice to see you too," Bulk smiled.

"Yeah," Skull agreed. "It's nice to see you, Billy."

"Wait, I never told you guys about Billy," Tommy interrupted. He was puzzled by the fact that they knew that Billy was a Power Ranger as well.

"It's a long story," Bulk assured. "You see we were prisoners of those robotic... What do you call them?"

"Grinders," Billy supplied.

"Grinders for the best part of the past two years. We were in the same labour camp as your friends, Kira, Trent and Anton..." Bulk continued.

"Wait, how do you know about them being my friends?" Tommy interrupted.

"He's getting to that bit," Skull assured.

"Anyway," Bulk continued again, "We were in that camp when that monster... What was his name?"

"Zeltrax," Billy supplied.

"Right, Zeltrax was his name. Anyway, he appeared out of nowhere yesterday, right in the middle of the labour camp, and quickly started trashing it for fun. Then, he spotted someone he recognised, a woman, Hayley was her name, and abducted her because of the fact that she was also one of your friends, or so Zeltrax said anyway, and he knew that taking her would mean that you would go after him as soon as you found out. Then, he vanished into thin air and left the camp in general anarchy," Bulk continued. "As for us, we fled the camp and ended up hiding underneath a prisoner van which you, Billy, stole from the Grinders. Once you were done with it, we borrowed it so that we could make our way towards Corinth using a map we found. And, that is really all you need to know about our story."

Tommy grew distant, angry and troubled after they had finished their tale. He quickly turned away from them in an attempt to hide his feelings from Zordon. Both Bulk and Skull were slightly surprised by Tommy's disturbing behaviour as they had never seen him act this way before. Zordon, however, saw right through Tommy's attempt to mask his dangerous emotions.

"Tommy, thoughts of anger and vengeance must be put aside regardless of how evil Zeltrax may be," Zordon warned.

"I know," Tommy replied as he took a deep breath to try to calm himself down. "I don't want to fight Zeltrax, regardless of how angry he makes me sometimes, but I know that I won't have any other choice because he still seeks revenge against me. And I know that he'll be merciless to all who stand in his way whilst he pursues me. Hayley's in a great deal of danger in his hands, Zordon, just because he's so ruthless so I'll have to get her back from him as quickly as possible before he hides her away somewhere where I can't find her. It just doesn't help that Goldenrod is out there searching for his father as well because there will be nowhere that I can hide to escape from their wrath if the two of them get together again."

He paused for a long moment. "The only thing which I just haven't worked out is how I'm going to rescue her, yet. Hayley hasn't got a lot of time but I won't be leaving until Kimberly wakes up."

Alpha shrugged. "We can work out the details later on, Tommy. By the way, the diagnostic checks found some slight structural damage to the Brachiozord but I repaired the damage as soon as the diagnostic checks brought it to my attention."

"Thanks, Alpha," Tommy said. "Bulk, Skull, I promise you that I'll find some sort of reward for both of you for your information. Without you guys risking your lives to warn me, I wouldn't know about Zeltrax capturing Hayley right now. Billy, would you please show them to a room somewhere so that they can get cleaned up? I need to get back to Kimberly."

Billy nodded. "I will, Tommy. Bulk, Skull, come with me as I know just the place for both of you."

"I'll see you later, guys," Tommy assured as he left to return to the infirmary. Bulk, Skull and Billy left soon after and headed in a different direction from Tommy.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Dino Thunder base, late afternoon, at that moment_

At that moment, they had reached the part of the story where Tommy showed up in Angel Grove. He wasn't the evil Green Ranger yet and they were now at the part where he defended Kimberly from Bulk and Skull, the bullies of Angel Grove, by threatening them with his martial arts moves. Both Kira and Trent couldn't help but giggle when they saw Tommy's previous hairstyle as they thought that it looked rather stupid. Summer was the only one who an attempt to defend his choice of hairstyle because even Ziggy was sniggering slightly about it.

"... He may look different to the Tommy Oliver he is now but he's still the same person. He's still as honourable as he was back then," Summer was saying. "He may look a little silly but I can assure both of you that his hairstyle back then was likely to have been fashionable in those days. Many people would have worn that exact look."

Kira and Trent, however, couldn't stop giggling about it.

"I'm sorry, Summer, but you still can't deny that he looks really silly with that haircut," Kira replied.

"So?" Ziggy replied as he shrugged. "The events of the past shape us into the people we are today. His silly haircut back then will have taught him never to have his hair cut in that style again. Hence, he must have had his hair cut short at some point to the way it is now."

Everyone looked to Ziggy as they were stunned because he had never shown a high level of wisdom before. The fact that he was actually capable of being rather sensible was something that none of them could actually believe. They just stared at him whilst unable to say anything because they were that stunned. After a few moments, Ziggy quickly grew uncomfortable under their glares.

"I'm not always the idiot, you know," he said trying to justify his words. "I can be sensible too."

Summer couldn't help but laugh at this. Ziggy turned to say something to her in reply to her laughter but, before he could, he tripped over the corner of the bedpost and quickly landed flat on his face. Everyone else burst into fits of laughter about his misfortune at that moment and Ziggy just sighed. After all this time, he was used to being laughed at because of his stupid mistakes anyway and anything which stopped them from staring at him was definitely a good thing.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ninjazord hangar, late afternoon_

"Repairs have now fixed 90% of the damage to the Falconzord. We have got to keep going as we are almost done," Dr K. urged as she finished yet another diagnostics check. Gem and Gemma, who were beginning to get bored, groaned at this news.

"Must we continue, K.?" Gem asked.

"We're getting rather tired," Gemma added in complaint.

"It's imperative that the Falconzord is fully operational as quickly as possible so the answer to your question is yes. We must keep going until the repairs are complete," she replied. They both groaned at her reply and vowed that they would never do this sort of thing again unless it was an absolute emergency before they started work on the final few repairs which needed to be done to the Falconzord so that it would be declared to be fully operational. After this, they both planned to take a nice long nap to recover from all the hard work they had done.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Bulk and Skull's base, late afternoon_

As Bulk and Skull entered, they instantly saw that Tommy had gotten the design of their room exactly right for their tastes. The walls were purple. The furniture was contemporary and a silvery colour. There was a black carpet and there were a number of arcade games sitting at one side of the room for them to use when they got bored. They had two bathrooms and a deluxe fridge which, to Bulk's disappointment, was unfortunately devoid of content. Skull threw open the wardrobe to find, to his great pleasure, clothing to his tastes which looked likely to fit him perfectly.

Billy stood by the door with a smile as he allowed them both to look around and settle in for a moment. When they turned to him, he could tell by the expressions on their faces that they really liked their room because they were grinning madly.

"I'm glad that you both like it, guys, but I can't stay here with you both. Both of you need to get cleaned up and I need to go to Kimberly's bedside. I'll come back for you at dinner to take you up to our dining and planning room," Billy said.

They shrugged. "It's all right, Billy, we understand that your close friends come first. If Kimberly wakes, say hi to her from us," Bulk assured.

"Yeah," Skull agreed. "And tell her that we'll come visit her soon."

Billy nodded. "I'll tell her, guys. Enjoy your room."

He left them then. This gave Bulk and Skull a chance to enjoy the delights of luxury which they had missed over the last two years so desperately. The first thing on their agenda, was the luxury that they had so desperately missed the most, a bath.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ninjazord hangar, late afternoon_

"That's us finished now. Repairs have fixed all the damage done to the Falconzord," Dr K. announced as Anton fixed the last panel back into place on the side of the Falconzord. The golden eyes of the Falconzord were trying to convey its gratitude to all of its repair crew but only Tenaya 15 smiled at it in reply as she seemingly understood what it was trying to say to all of them.

Gem and Gemma celebrated the fact that they had finished their work and that they could now go away to do something more interesting with a few cheers. However, Dr K., who had instantly turned her attention back to reconstruction of the Triceratops Dinozord, was about to ruin their celebrations with her next announcement.

"We can leave the test flight to Tommy or another of the Power Rangers but, for now, we've got to get back to working upon the Triceratops Dinozord. With Gem and Gemma's assistance, we should be able to finish the outer shell of the Zord tonight," Dr K. continued.

Anton smiled as Gem and Gemma groaned once again at her words. Dr K. had roped them into helping her and they knew that there was no way that they would be able to find a way to get out of it. They were stuck doing a boring job for another long while and, as they followed Dr K., Tenaya 15 and Anton Mercer to the Zord Construction Bay, they reminded themselves that they would never do this sort of work again if they were ever asked to volunteer themselves for other projects in the future.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, early evening, at that moment_

Tommy instantly looked up, from where he sat in a chair at Kimberly's bedside, as he heard a soft groan escape Kimberly's pale cracked lips.

"IRMA!" he called instantly in excitement. "I think that Kimberly's waking up!"

IRMA instantly scrambled away from her work to come over to her bedside as Kimberly opened her eyes.

"Tommy," she smiled weakly. Tommy instantly embraced her. He was reduced to tears and, forgetting himself, he kissed her on the cheek.

"Kimberly, we were really worried about you," he said. "We didn't know if you would ever wake up again or not."

Kimberly blushed at his kiss. "Tommy, you're hurting me," she warned as she winced.

Instantly, he let go of her and regained his composure as he realised that he had made several mistakes.

"I'm sorry, Kimberly," he apologised. "I should have thought about my actions first."

"Where are we?" she asked as she looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. She had decided to change the subject to something else because she was starting to feel rather uncomfortable about their current topic.

As Billy entered and noticed that Kimberly was awake, Tommy smiled. "It's a long story but I'll explain everything to you right now. You see..."

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, in the corridor outside the Infirmary, early evening, at that very moment_

Zordon watched the touching scene in the infirmary with a warm smile on his face. Although he had promised not to intervene, Zordon couldn't help himself as he didn't want Kimberly's life to be left to fate. He was paying for it now because it had absolutely exhausted him but that didn't matter too much to Zordon at all. He knew that he couldn't completely drain his energy as he wasn't stuck in an energy tube any more but he was determined to do whatever he could to help Tommy and the other Power Rangers regardless of the risks to his health. Both Alpha and Cestria had tried to talk him out of healing Kimberly only a few moments beforehand but Zordon had overruled them and, now, as he watched Tommy and Billy tell Kimberly everything with warm smiles on their faces, he was glad that he had ignored their warnings because any small happiness during this long war was to be treasured. He knew that there would be a great deal of misery and misfortune to come later on for everyone so anything that he could do to put a smile on their faces was well worth the consequences.

After watching them for another minute, Zordon turned to make his way straight back up to the Command Centre so that they did not catch him in the act of healing Kimberly. If Tommy or Billy ever found out that he had healed Kimberly, he knew that he would worry them and Zordon didn't want to burden them with unnecessary worries any more than he had to during this war. Only IRMA saw the white robe he was wearing as he walked away from the Infirmary and she couldn't help but sigh about his intervention.

Sometimes, Zordon was like a god as he had the power to choose who lived and who died during crucial moments. As he walked away, IRMA wondered about how awful it must be to be burdened with that sort of gift. Little did she realise at that moment that someone else who had a similar gift to Zordon's was right under her nose.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, mid-evening, some time later_

Sitting there as she ate her soup, Kira looked around the room to the other Power Rangers. It was only then that she noticed that several people who were supposed to be there were missing as both Tommy and Billy's chairs were empty and Zordon was nowhere to be seen. The other Power Ranger didn't seem to have registered this fact yet so she decided to make them aware of it.

"Guys, did you notice that Tommy, Billy and Zordon aren't here?" she asked. Everyone else shrugged.

"I didn't. I wonder where they are," Summer replied as Alpha entered. He was helping Cestria to carry the trays with more bowls of soup upon them. As Alpha helped Cestria hand them out, he decided to tell them where those missing from dinner were to stop them from worrying about Tommy, Billy and Zordon.

"Zordon is resting, Power Rangers. Cestria and I prevailed upon him to get some sleep after we noticed that he could barely stay awake when he returned to the Command Centre after going to fetch something for me from the Storage Bay. I shouldn't have let him do it, Rangers, but he wouldn't be swayed from helping me," Alpha lied. In reality, they both knew that Zordon had gone to heal Kimberly but Alpha 5 had to lie to them so that Tommy didn't find out the truth from their lips. "As for the others, Billy brought Bulk and Skull up here and gave Anton his Wolf Power Coin before he left to be with Tommy. They are both with Kimberly right now and they're sorry that they couldn't make it up here to have dinner with you all."

"Thanks for letting us know, Alpha," Kira smiled as she suddenly glanced to Bulk and Skull over beside Tenaya 15. They were both eating their fill and had already polished off several bowls of Cestria's nutritious soup. Tenaya 15 ignored them as she was absolutely disgusted by their greediness. Instead, she was talking to Dr K. and Anton about progress that they had made during the reconstruction of the Triceratops Dinozord.

"Wow, who knew that anyone could eat that much?" she whispered to Trent. He shrugged.

"I know," he replied. "I guess that they're just eating to make up for all the days that they haven't had access to good tasty food over the past two years. They'll stop being greedy in a few days I'm sure."

"Hey RJ, can I ask something?" Scott asked suddenly. RJ, who had been sitting contemplating the fate of his friends and his mistakes up until Scott had snapped him out of his thoughts, looked up from his uneaten bowl of soup.

"Yes, ask away," he replied calmly.

"We wondering about your time as a Power Ranger. Can you tell us about some of your adventures?" Scott said.

RJ shook his head before he stood. "I'm afraid, my friends, I don't want to talk about them," he replied. "I've suddenly found that I'm not at all hungry, Cestria, but I'm sure that your soup was delicious. If you can excuse me, I think that I need to go get some rest."

RJ then left and everyone watched him go. They were all puzzled by his reaction to Scott's simple request but only Alpha knew why RJ had reacted the way he did. Everyone else quickly shrugged it off as Scott directed the same question to Kira and Trent.

"Sure, why not?" Trent shrugged as he and Kira began to tell their tale.

Anton was sort of listening to their tale but he had already heard it many times before anyway. He did have a rather irritating problem which was distracting him at that moment. He was struggling to eat his soup and hold onto the Wolf Power Coin at the same time. Dr K. laughed helplessly about his struggle just to eat a simple bowl of soup as she watched him.

"Is it really necessary to hold onto that Coin whilst eating, Anton Mercer?" she asked.

Anton nodded. He was clearly rather annoyed but there wasn't anything which he could do about it as he shuddered to think of what the Brachiozord would do to him if it believed him to be Mesogog.

"Yes, I have to as the system might believe me to be a threat otherwise. If you want to know why then you can listen to the story that Kira and Trent are telling the other Rangers right now," Anton snapped.

Alpha, who had been listening in to this as he handed out the last bowl of soup to Tenaya 15, sighed. "I'm sorry that I haven't managed to get round to fixing that problem, Anton, but I'll get onto making a device that will identify you as Anton Mercer, and won't mistake you to be Mesogog, right away. I should be able to finish it for breakfast tomorrow, I promise," he assured.

"Thanks, Alpha," Anton said as he smiled again. He was going to try to make the best of the situation because the alternative, if he wasn't holding onto the Power Coin, was much worse.

Alpha then made his way to the head of the table to make an announcement. "Rangers," he called out.

Everyone turned to him. "I recommend that all of you get some rest after dinner as an attack could come at any time and I know that today must have been difficult. Scorpina was a formidable foe and she must have exhausted all of you. If Zordon was here with us, I'm sure that he would tell you that all of you tried your best and did well, despite the fact Scorpina bested all of you and that Anton had to intervene, considering the odds were against you. He would also say that you shouldn't take it badly that you couldn't beat her. Scorpina was once feared throughout the galaxy because she was so dangerous and difficult to defeat," he assured. "If Tommy and Billy were here, they would have told you about their experiences fighting against her and I'm sure that they would have said the very same thing Zordon would have said to you."

Everyone nodded as Alpha sighed. "Well, I must get back to my duties, Rangers, so, if you need me, I'll be up in the Command Centre."

Alpha left then as Kira smiled sadly. "Alpha is so devoted to Zordon's care. It amazes me that anyone can inspire that kind of loyalty," she said softly.

"Zordon is often amazed by Alpha's loyalty himself," Cestria said quietly. "He may only be a robot but Alpha 5 acts so much like a human being that sometimes you can't tell the difference between them. He has served Zordon faithfully since his first model, Alpha 1, and will continue to do so until the end of time. If Zordon was in danger, Alpha would risk himself to protect the old sage despite the danger of him being damaged beyond repair. That, Power Rangers, is how deep Alpha's loyalty to Zordon is."

She sighed. "I had better go help him with whatever he is doing now."

Cestria left without another word. This left the Power Rangers to consider her words. After a few minutes of silence, Kira and Trent resumed their story and the RPM Power Rangers quickly became wrapped up in their tale of their adventures.


	12. Dreams Part 3: Lost Friends

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Dreams Part 3: Lost Friends

_Dreamworld, Spirit Jungle_

_I wander through the jungle again. I know, with all my heart, that the spirits have brought me back here for a reason. They must be trying to tell me about something rather important so I remain fully aware of my surroundings as I wander through the jungle as anything could be a potential sign or a warning from them. However, I don't see anything particularly unusual around me as I wander and I don't see any sign of Master Mao either._

_I continue to wander aimlessly and, after a while, I decide to head to the Rhino Nexus as wandering clearly isn't getting me anywhere. Perhaps, just like the last time, there will be a message from the spirits on the branch which was covered by drawings. It takes me a while to arrive at the Rhino Nexus and I still don't see anything unusual. I make my way up to the shrine._

_The branch still stands where the Rhino Steel Zord had once stood in the centre of the Nexus. The drawings are also still there but, unlike the last time, they don't glow. The black cogs are still glowing though. I sigh because nothing has changed so I turn to leave to search for their message elsewhere. However, as I begin to quietly leave the Rhino Nexus,_ _one particular drawing flares into life spreading warm golden light throughout the Nexus. I turn to see what has changed when I first notice the warm golden glow around me._

_The rhino, with the mouse hiding behind its horn, is glowing so brightly that I can barely look at it without being blinded by the powerful golden light. As I stare at the image, the sound of the rhino charging away in the jungle below reaches my ears again just like all the times I have dreamt of the rhino before. However, unlike all those other times, as I look over the edge of the Nexus, I can see the rhino coming towards me. I pause for a long moment and watch as it grows closer and closer._

Is this why the spirits brought me here? Is Dominic going to return? _I think before I start to walk away from the Nexus as I don't think that there's anything else the spirits want me to see here. Behind me, although I don't notice him as he appears, Mao shows up and watches me as I walk away. He has a sad smile on his face as if he knows of what may be to come._

"_Trust, RJ, is what you must find in yourself again," he murmurs. I turn sharply towards his voice when it reaches my ears but Mao is already long gone by the time I'm facing where he must have stood only moments before. I stand still as I think about his words for a moment. Then, I suddenly snap out of my thoughts as the dream begins to vanish like the last time. _

What did he mean? _I wonder just before I begin to wake._

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Jungle Fury base, very, very early in the morning_

RJ woke instantly as soon as the dream had vanished. He quickly sat up and took a few moments to ponder what the dream had meant. It was important, he knew that much, but he wasn't so sure that his guess about what it had meant was right. He wasn't so sure that Dominic really was going to be coming back into his life.

_Regardless of what the dream means, I've got to fetch Tommy and go to Zordon. We promised that we would tell him about any strange dreams we experience as soon as we wake from them and I'm not going to abandon that promise. Anything that could be a hint of what is to come is important. _RJ thought as he snapped out of his pondering. He knew that he couldn't afford to worry about what the dream had meant now as he had to get to Zordon.

RJ got out of bed and scrambled to find his morpher. It had fallen off again during the night and was now lost somewhere amongst his duvet. He reminded himself that he would never sleep with it on again. Eventually, after a long extensive search, he found it hidden under his pillow and he quickly secured it back onto his wrist.

Before he fetched Tommy and went to Zordon, RJ took a quick shower to make sure that he was fully awake when he told them about the dream. As soon as he came out of the shower, he dressed quickly and then left the Jungle Fury base to search for Tommy. RJ knew that, if Tommy wasn't with Kimberly, he would either be sleeping on the sofa in the RPM base or in one of the bases which, as a Power Ranger during that team's active service, he could use. It wouldn't take RJ long to find Tommy Oliver, wherever he was in the Brachiozord, but his search would be made more difficult by the fact that he would have to make sure that he didn't wake anyone else up in the process. RJ only hoped that he found Tommy quickly as he knew that, the longer he searched for Tommy, the more likely he would wake someone in the process.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, very, very early in the morning, at that very moment_

Lying in the cave by the shore, quite far from Corinth City, Dominic sighed and opened his eyes as Fran snuggled closer to him. He had struggled through trial after trial to get back to America and they were now only miles away from Corinth City. He wondered if he would find RJ and the others there but he didn't get his hopes up as he knew that, like so many people in the world, they were likely to be in a labour camp somewhere in the country now. Dominic and Fran had only escaped that fate because of the intervention of the Spirit Masters.

He sighed as he closed his eyes again. He needed to get some rest as it was going to be a long day tomorrow. They weren't going to stop to rest until they reached Corinth because it was so close to where they were now.

_Wherever you are, my friends, I hope that you're alive. _Dominic thought before he drifted back off to sleep. _Especially you, RJ, as I don't want to find out that I'll never get to hear some of your wisdom ever again._

_Dreamworld, Angel Grove_

I'm dreaming. _I remind myself for the hundredth time as I can't help thinking it's the real thing. I really can't._

_I'm standing in Angel Grove. The Dreamworld representation of it, that is. As I look around, I still can't help but feel amazed about the fact that the Dreamworld representation of Angel Grove is extremely lifelike. I'm standing right outside Angel Grove High School and, because it looks so real, it makes me feel like I'd never left. After taking a moment to take in my surroundings, I slowly wander into the building and take a look around the place. I'm curious to see how lifelike the Dreamworld representation of where I grew up really is. The entire building is deserted but, strangely, I find that my locker is still there. It even still has my name on it._ _Just out of curiosity,_ _I try to open it but the lock won't budge._

_I sigh and continue to wander around the building. It has been a long time since I last dreamt of this place and, even then, that last dream wasn't as detailed as this dream is. This dream seems like something more than a simple dream to me because it is so lifelike. I stop for a moment to consider this fact._

If this isn't a simple dream then someone must using this dream to try to tell me something. If they are, where would they likely try to communicate with me? _I wonder. Then, it hits me._

_There could be two places where they could try. The Youth Centre and the Command Centre. _

_After another pause, I decide to go to the Youth Centre first as it is only a few streets away. The familiar journey only takes me a few minutes. When I arrive, I'm amazed to find that everything on the outside, right down to the graffiti on the walls, is exactly as I remember it to be all those years ago. _

_Inside the Youth Centre, everything is also identical to what it was back then and I smile fondly at those familiar sights. The bar, the tables where we used to sit at together, the balance beam where Kimberly used to practice her gymnastics and even the training area, which Jason, Rocky, Adam, Zack and I trained to improve our fighting techniques, are all exactly as they were back then._

_However, there is still no sign of anyone trying to communicate with me. I sigh. It's obvious to me that whoever brought me here doesn't want to talk to me in the Youth Centre. _

Only one place left, now. _I think._

_I look down at my wrist as I consider how I could get to the original Command Centre. After a few moments, I have an idea so I activate the teleportation feature on my communicator to take me there. I'm surprised as I disappear in a flash of white light that it actually works. When I reappear in the Command Centre, I take a good look around the place. Everything there is as it originally was back then, right down to Zordon's energy tube, but there is still no sign of anyone trying to communicate with me._

"_I'm here. What do you want of me?" I call out in frustration as I'm sick of waiting to find out the reason why I was brought here._

_At that moment, behind me, my answers appear in flashes of coloured light. I turn to find, to my great astonishment, Zack, Trini and Jason, the other Original Power Rangers standing there. They are all dressed in ragged clothing and carry the marks of sorrow and despair on their faces. I don't know what to say to them. However, before I can think of anything, Jason speaks first._

"_Tommy, bro, you've got to find us," Jason begs. His plea startles and confuses me slightly._

"_What..." I begin._

"_It doesn't matter, Tommy. We don't have much time left so you've got to find us soon," Trini interrupts._

"_Please, you've got to find us, Tommy, man as you're our last hope. You've got to find us before it's too late," Zack adds._

_I'm still startled and confused by their pleas. "Why have I got to find you? Why isn't there much time left?" I ask._

"_There's no time to explain, Tommy. You've got to find us," Jason replies. "We trust you, bro. You found Kimberly, didn't you?" I nod in reply to this. "Now, you've got to find us as well before it's too late."_

"_I'll try. But..." I begin. Jason shakes his head._

"_No buts, bro, as doubting won't get you anywhere. You've got to find us, before it's too late," Jason replies._

_The dream begins to fade around me. "No, wait... What do you mean? How will I find you?" I exclaim as Jason presses something into my hand. He then steps back to join the others_

"_Find us, Tommy... Find us all before it's too late..." they reply just as they vanish in flashes of coloured light just before the dream vanishes. _

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, RPM base, very, very early in the morning_

"Tommy, wake up!" RJ hissed as Tommy stirred. He opened his eyes to find RJ hanging over him with an expression which was a mixture of concern and awe.

"What's wrong, RJ?" Tommy asked as he sat up on the sofa.

"I had another one of those dreams, Tommy, and I bet that you've just had one as well as you were moaning in your sleep again like the last time. If I hadn't come along, one of the RPM Power Rangers would have seen you dreaming and glowing with white light. If they had, they would likely be asking you some rather awkward questions right now," RJ replied as he sat down beside him on the sofa.

"I was glowing?" Tommy asked, surprised, as he looked over himself to check if he was still glowing now. Unfortunately, he wasn't glowing any more.

RJ nodded. "Yes, you were glowing. When I found you, it shocked me at first. However, once I had snapped out of my shock, I knew that I needed to wake you up before anyone else noticed. What were you dreaming about?"

"The other Original Power Rangers who we've not found yet. You?" Tommy answered quietly.

"Dominic," RJ replied sadly as he briefly worried for his friend. He put it to one side before he paused for a moment as he suddenly thought of something that he needed to ask. "You don't feel any different, do you?"

Tommy thought about the answer to that question for a moment as they stood. "No, I don't feel any different," he assured RJ as he paused for a second. "We had better go see Zordon about this. We promised him that, if any of us had strange dreams, we would go straight to him and tell him everything."

RJ nodded and, without saying anything else, they began to make their way up to the Command Centre together. On the way, Tommy remembered that Jason had given him something during the dream just before it had ended. When Tommy looked down to his hand to check if there was still anything there, just out of curiosity, he found that there was a small round stone about the size of a small coin. The stone bore the thunder emblem of the Original Power Rangers and a hole had been drilled right through the top of the stone so that, with the piece of black cord that was also there, it could be worn around his neck. Tommy smiled sadly as he thought about his oldest friends before he hung the trinket around his neck. If he needed any proof that the dream he had just dreamed was more than it seemed, this trinket would be more than enough to convince even the most sceptical.

_It must have taken them a while to craft this to such a high level of detail. I'm going to treasure this, even after I find them, because it's a gift from my oldest friends. _Tommy thought. When he turned it over, he found that there was another emblem engraved onto the back of it. The Falcon, the lord of the skies, was pictured in flight.

RJ turned as he wondered what Tommy was up to. He was slightly ahead of Tommy in the corridor as Tommy had stopped walking whilst he was examining the stone. "Tommy, are you coming?"

Tommy looked up and nodded. "Yeah," he replied as he started walking again. As he walked, he hoped that his friends could hold on until he could search for them.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ninjazord hangar, very, very early in the morning_

The Falconzord's eyes were glowing so brightly that the golden light filled the entire Ninjazord hangar. Now that Tommy was aware of the fact that his three closest friends were in danger, the Falconzord was aware of their plight as well. It knew, however, that it couldn't go searching for them now as Tommy would need it during the search for Hayley but it did resolve to search for the other Original Rangers whenever it could find some time to spare.

However, until it could search for them, the Falconzord resolved to do whatever it could to make the search for them easier. It began to discreetly scan the desert to try to narrow down the areas which it would have to search in an effort to find the Original Rangers. It was looking for any indicators, Power Coin signatures, massive power surges, anything at all, which would suggest that the area was worth searching because the Original Rangers could be there. The Falconzord only hoped that it could find them before it was too late.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, very, very early in the morning, at that very moment_

Jason, Zack and Trini stood in a circle holding their three Power Coins out in front of them in the middle of the sandy desert. They had all just used the last of the very little power left in their Power Coins to contact Tommy and, now, without their Power Coins and their Ranger forms, they would be almost completely defenceless if they were attacked by Grinders or evil. They were still unsure about whether they should have used the last of their power to contact Tommy or not so they were silent as they took a few moments to consider the dangerous situation that they had now put themselves in.

"Well, it's done," Jason said to finally break the silence between them as they looked at each other sadly. "There's no power left in the Power Coins now."

"Do you think that it worked?" Trini asked as they put their Power Coins away.

"We can hope that it did, Trini," Zack replied. "I don't think that we're going to be able to survive out here much longer because the Grinders are still searching for us and we don't have a great deal of water or supplies left."

"Tommy will find us, guys," Jason assured, "He'll know that we're in trouble and I'm confident that he'll start searching for us as soon as he can."

"That's if he can," Trini countered. "We don't know if he'll be able to search for us or not."

"He'll come, Tommy won't abandon us," Zack assured.

"But..." Trini began.

"He'll come," Jason said firmly as the sound of approaching Grinders reached their ears. "Come on, we had better get out of here before they catch up with us."

Zack and Trini nodded. Then, after a moment of hesitation, they fled into the night before the Grinders could find them. All of them hoped that Tommy would find them soon before it was too late.


	13. Chapter 9: Secrets Under The Sand

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 9: Secrets Under The Sand

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, very, very early in the morning_

Zordon shook his head. He was sitting in the main chair and had just heard about both of their dreams. Tommy and RJ stood nearby and watched him as they waited for his opinion. Billy was at the console and he had put in several complex calculations to boost their teleportation range as he had listened to their tale which he was now checking over.

Alpha was helping Billy and was also investigating a strange faint signal which they had been receiving from space as well. He was quiet because he was afraid that, if he said anything, he could let the fact that Zordon healed Kimberly slip without meaning to and he didn't want to betray Zordon's trust.

Eventually, after taking a moment to consider their tale, Zordon sighed. "I think that you're both right about those dreams. The spirits were warning you, RJ, that Dominic is coming. And I am afraid that the other Original Rangers are in great danger, Tommy. My best guess is that they sent you that dream using the last of the energy in their Power Coins but I don't have the slightest clue why Jason gave you that stone."

"Neither do I. When we find them, Zordon, I'll ask them that question myself," Tommy replied.

RJ was quiet and Zordon knew what was troubling him. "Mao was right, RJ. You've got to learn to trust yourself again. I know that you must loathe yourself for what your Wolf Spirit made you do but you must remember that it wasn't your choice. It was fate. You are the Messenger and your role in this whole war is a rather important one indeed. Without you, we wouldn't have any chance of winning this fight. We would not have any knowledge of what may be to come. We wouldn't have a slight advantage over evil..." Zordon said calmly.

"And I wouldn't have the good friend that you are to me, RJ," Tommy replied. "I wouldn't have someone, other than Billy, whom I can be entirely honest with and rely upon in times of need."

"And the Rangers wouldn't have such a powerful role model to look up to," Alpha added. "They wouldn't have experience to guide them and I know of at least two who, without your aid a few days ago, wouldn't be here right now."

RJ nodded. "You're right, guys. I do need to learn to trust my instincts more."

"Anyway," Zordon began as he switched back to talking about the dreams. "We have got to take these dreams to be warnings. We know that your friend, Dominic, aka the White Rhino Ranger, is coming, RJ, and we know that we have to find the other three Original Rangers because they are in some sort of grave danger. We may have to abandon finding Hayley for now and search for them instead."

"No, we can't do that Zordon! Zeltrax will likely harm her if we don't rescue her quickly so our best option is to find Hayley first before we look for the Original Rangers. The desert is so vast that it will take us ages to search it all to find the other Original Rangers but we won't have to search everywhere for Hayley as we know pretty much where she is probably being held by Zeltrax," Tommy exclaimed.

There was silence for a moment.

"Zordon, I've got to agree with Tommy on this one," Billy said finally. "As much as we want to find the Original Rangers, we can't go blundering all over the desert looking for them aimlessly. Tommy's plan has an additional bonus because, whilst we search for Hayley, Alpha and Cestria can be searching the desert for any traces of the Original Rangers."

Another moment of silence followed.

"Not all of us are going to be leaving Corinth in search of Hayley, Billy. Hence, I'll need to leave someone who I can trust behind to organise the defence of Corinth," Tommy replied. "Zeltrax is my problem and I intend to get Hayley back."

At that moment, Alpha turned to Zordon. "Zordon, I've managed to trace the signal we were receiving. It's Andros and it seems that he has been trying to contact Billy."

Everyone turned to Alpha as Zordon stood up.

"Alpha, can you reply?" Zordon asked.

"The signal is too faint, Zordon," Alpha replied. "I can't strengthen the signal enough to reply to him."

"I can," Tommy replied. "I'll need to take the Falconzord into space for a few minutes, though. I know of a satellite which should be able to boost our signal and his by around a hundred times. It's one of the last remaining scraps of Mercer Industries but, because of the fact that it's on the Moon, it may have avoided destruction at Venjix's hands during the invasion. I need to go up there to turn it on but, once I've done that, we'll be able to use it to access all the other remaining working satellites. Most importantly, we'll be able to use them all to boost our signals but we'll also be able to use them to make our search for all the other lost Rangers much easier."

"Well, as much as I believe this might work, I've just got a few small problems with it. How are we going to keep it safe from evil? How are we going to hide it from Zedd?" Billy asked.

"Don't worry, Billy. Anton once told me that it can be configured to work with any system on the planet with just a few adjustments. I'm just hoping that I can reconfigure it to work with the Universal Morphing Grid. It's the only omnipresent and omnipotent system in existence where space and time has no meaning. Of course, we won't be able to use it to make a call across time to the future Rangers but I'm fairly confident that we'll be able to use it to talk to Andros," Tommy replied. "I'll need Alpha to help me set it up, though."

"I'll be able to easily set that up, Tommy, Zordon," Alpha assured. "We've just got to get past Zedd undetected first."

"I'll be able to channel the power of invisibility from my Black Dino Gem through the Falconzord to hide us. Zordon?" Tommy asked. Zordon nodded.

"Go but try not to wake everyone else up," Zordon commanded.

Tommy nodded and, with Alpha at his side, they left for the Falconzord.

_Somewhere On The Moon, very, very early in the morning, half an hour later_

"Do you think that Zedd will find us here?" Alpha asked as they made their way through the tunnels which led to the satellite. Tommy had morphed into the White Ranger so that he would be able to react quickly if anyone found them. It was, however, rather unlikely that any of Zedd's minions knew of these tunnels or of the satellite hidden at the end of them, deep under the surface, either.

"No, Alpha," Tommy replied as he spotted one of the markers left to point the way to the dormant satellite. "We're almost there, Alpha. As far as I can remember, we've just got to turn right here."

They turned right and entered the sizeable cavern where the satellite resided. It stood right in the centre of the cavern but it was clear that there wasn't any fuel left in its tanks as it wouldn't turn on when Tommy flicked the switch.

"I was worried that this would be the case. The satellite has run out of power," Tommy sighed. "It's useless to us now."

"Not necessarily," Alpha replied as he took Tommy's wrist and activated his communicator. "Zordon, could you come up here for a moment? We need your help."

"I will be right there, Alpha," Zordon assured as the communication was shut down. Seconds later, Zordon appeared without any warning at their side. "Alpha, what is the problem?"

"We need a powerful source of energy to power up this satellite, Zordon. Perhaps, you should create a power crystal?" Alpha replied in suggestion.

Zordon sighed. "Considering the situation, I think that you are right, Alpha. Stand back," he warned. Both Tommy and Alpha stepped back to allow Zordon room to create the power crystal. For a few seconds, Tommy was stunned to feel the extent of Zordon's full power as he attempted to create a powerful power crystal to power the satellite even though Zordon's power wasn't directed at him. It felt to Tommy like being hit by the full force of a powerful gust of wind as it quickly made all of his muscles sore and his teeth ache quite badly.

The glow coming off Zordon was dazzlingly bright and only Alpha, who was a robot, could look directly at him without being temporarily blinded. Tommy had to turn away and he only dared to turn back when the pain had subsided. When he did, he found that Zordon was holding a long thin white crystal about the length of his arm in his hand.

"Did you feel that?" Zordon asked with concern. Tommy nodded. "Then, you are awakening faster than I expected, Tommy. You will have to be more careful than ever to make sure that you do not accidentally use your powers during moments of intense emotion."

Tommy was silent as Zordon proceeded to pass the crystal to Alpha 5. Then, Alpha quickly put it into the empty fuel tank and started up the satellite. Within several minutes, Alpha had successfully managed to reconfigure it to work with the Universal Morphing Grid by plugging himself into the satellite's system and programming it through his circuits. Once he had done that, he linked it to the web of satellites which were still able to function before setting up the connection between the web of satellites and the Brachiozord.

"That's it complete, Zordon. When we get back to the Brachiozord, we should be able to contact Andros without difficulty," Alpha assured.

Zordon smiled. "Thank you, Alpha," he said with a weak smile. "I had better get back to the Brachiozord. I shall inform the others that you were successful."

Zordon made an attempt to vanish but he found that he was too exhausted for it to succeed. Alpha quickly caught him as he almost toppled to the ground.

"Zordon, you know that you can't attempt teleportation whilst you are exhausted. You're coming back with us," Alpha said with concern as he supported Zordon whilst he got back onto his feet.

Tommy nodded in agreement with Alpha's words. "He's right, Zordon. You've got to take it easy for now so that you can recover your strength in case you need it later."

Zordon smiled. "Your concern for me flatters me but I will be all right."

He tried to walk unaided as they left the cavern but he stumbled after a few steps and Alpha 5 had to catch him again.

"You're not in an energy tube any more, Zordon, so you've got to take easy. You're tens of thousands of years old, you know, and you shouldn't try to deny that you need some help at times," Tommy reminded him as he went over to help Alpha to carry him out of the tunnels to the Falconzord between them. Once they were inside the Falconzord, Tommy took control of the Falconzord and piloted it off the Moon. As the Falconzord reached Earth's orbit, everyone prepared for a bumpy re-entry into the atmosphere. Tommy held on tightly to the console as the Falconzord swooped into its descent back down to Earth.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, very early in the morning, a significant amount of time later_

As Alpha finished the final few adjustments to the Brachiozord to allow for a video link between Andros and those present in the Command Centre, Billy sent out a powerful signal in reply to Andros to let him know that they had received his faint signal.

"Now, I guess that we wait," RJ said grimly.

"We won't be waiting long, RJ," Tommy, who was standing at his side, assured confidently as they received a powerful signal in return from Andros.

"Setting up video link..." Alpha said as he activated the final few commands to allow them to see Andros at the other end of the communication link.

When Andros appeared on screen, with the cockpit of the Astro Megaship in the background, he looked much older than Tommy had remembered him to be. When Tommy looked closer, Andros still wore the same uniform and the same hairstyle but it was his face which made him look older because he looked more mature than he had when they had last met all those years ago.

It was Andros's reaction to Zordon being alive that made Tommy smile.

"Zordon... but I thought..." Andros whispered. He was clearly stunned that the old sage was still alive.

Zordon smiled. "Andros, as you can see, I am back now."

"But I..." he began.

"Andros, it is all in the past," Zordon assured him. "You did the right thing to save the entire universe from evil."

RJ was slightly puzzled by this. Tommy leaned in to whisper to him.

"Andros, the Red Space Ranger, was the one who smashed Zordon's energy tube to save the world from the United Alliance of Evil. Zordon, however, was killed during the release of his purifying energy," Tommy whispered as Andros turned to Alpha.

"Alpha, I thought that you were with Dimitria?" he asked.

"I'm not Alpha 6, Andros, but I can see why that mistook me for my successor. I'm Alpha 5, Zordon's loyal aide, and it's an honour to make your acquaintance," Alpha 5 replied. To Tommy, he sounded quite amused by Andros's mistake.

"There are more Alphas?" RJ asked Tommy quietly.

"Currently there are three models. Alpha 5, Alpha 6 and Alpha 7," Tommy replied quietly in his ear. "There used to be other models as well but they've all been destroyed over the years."

"Forgive me for mistaking you for your successor, Alpha 5, but you're both quite similar," Andros apologised to Alpha as he turned to Tommy. "For a man who was widely thought to be dead, you look rather well Tommy."

"Fate has been rather kind to me, Andros. You look rather well yourself," Tommy replied politely.

"Forgive me but I don't recognise your friend," Andros said politely.

"This is RJ, Andros," Tommy said quickly in introduction. "Wolf Ranger of the Jungle Fury Rangers."

"It's an honour to meet you at last, Andros," RJ said quickly.

"The honour is mine," Andros replied before he paused for a moment then continued with, "I've received news from the Rangers on other worlds, Zordon, which was why I was attempting to contact you. The Alien Rangers on Aquitar are fending off Z-Putties almost every other day but, fortunately, they've been spared the worst of the onslaught so far. Trey of Triforia has teamed up with the Phantom Ranger and the Blue Senturion to keep King Mondo and the Machine Empire from recruiting an army. They're disrupting all of the Machine Empire's activities and will continue to do so until it comes to a point that they can't keep the Machine Empire away from this galaxy. Along with Dimitria of Inquiris, all of them send you greetings, Tommy, and wish you luck because they know that your task in this whole affair is the most difficult."

Tommy smiled. "Tell Trey, the Phantom Ranger and the Blue Senturion that I wish them a great deal of luck. They've got to keep Mondo and his goons away from Earth for as long as possible. When Mondo finally reaches Earth, we'll have to be ready for the last stand as he'll bring a vast army with him in his attempt to take over the planet."

Andros nodded. "I know, Tommy. If Mondo is ready before we are, Earth will fall and so will the rest of the universe."

"We'll be ready, Andros," Billy assured. "Tommy and I are beginning to bring all of the Power Rangers together. Many, though, have been lost during the Venjix invasion so it's going to take us a while to find them all. I'm confident that we can do it, though."

"And I am confident that they will succeed too," Zordon assured. "What other news do you have for us?"

"I checked with the Mercurians, Billy. Tyzonn and Vella didn't return to Mercuria as we hoped that they had which means that they must still be on Earth somewhere," Andros informed them. "As for me, I'm working with the other Space Rangers and the Lost Galaxy Rangers to defend KO-35 and Mirinoi from Dark Specter, Divatox, Captain Mutiny and Scorpius and his daughter Trakeena. We know that we're fighting a losing battle, as we're vastly outnumbered, but our main aim is just to keep all the villains away from Earth for as long as possible. What's making the whole situation all the more difficult, though, is the fact that... Karone has brainwashed into Astronema again."

There was a strong hint of despair in his voice when he stated this fact and RJ looked to Tommy for an explanation.

"His sister. She used to be Dark Specter's loyal princess. However, Zordon's purifying wave rescued her from evil and she later became the Pink Lost Galaxy Ranger when Kendrix Morgan was killed in battle. She was, after Trakeena was destroyed, later revived but until then Karone held her post and completely made up for her deeds as Astronema," Tommy whispered.

"That is sad news, Andros," Zordon sighed. "No matter what the risks are, I vow to you that we will do everything we can to help you get her back from Dark Specter again."

"So do I," Tommy added. "It won't be easy, though."

"Thanks. You both know how much Karone means to me," Andros replied with a sad smile.

There were several moments of silence at this, probably to give Andros time to compose himself, before Zordon decided to promptly change the topic.

"Andros, you must involve Ninjor in the off-world defence. Send one of the Rangers to him by using the power which I sealed into the Quasar Sabers long ago. I will let them know that your Ranger is coming. Just warn whoever you send that the journey to Ninjor will be a test of their skills as their morphers will be rendered useless," Zordon urged.

"And warn them not to anger Ninjor either. He has quite a nasty temper," Tommy and Billy added quite quickly.

Andros nodded. "I will. It's very likely that I'll be sending Mike Corbett to Ninjor because he's the only one out of all us who I can spare. He lost his powers as the Magna Defender long ago and he has hated the fact that he's missing out on all of the action because he isn't a Ranger any more. This might be a way of making him useful again."

Zordon smiled. "It's likely that the Magna Defender will be rewarded, if he survives through the trial, with the return of his power. Ninjor is rather generous but don't tell the Magna Defender that."

"Before you go, Andros, how are the others?" Tommy asked. He desperately wanted to know because he knew it was likely that they wouldn't be in contact again for a while and, if Tommy did find any of the other Rangers who knew of them, Tommy wanted to be able to tell them about their friends.

Andros smiled at this.

"We were all fortunate that we were on KO-35 at the time of the Venjix invasion, and the Lost Galaxy Rangers were lucky to be on Mirinoi, otherwise the universe would be facing certain destruction at the hands of Dark Specter right now. You can tell all who ask about us that we're fine Tommy," he replied. "Anyway, before I go, I've got a message from my team-mates for you, Tommy. They want you to find Justin and, when you find him, bring him out to KO-35. Ashley and Cassie are especially worried about him."

"I'll find him, Andros, as quickly as I can. We've got a few problems over here that need sorting but, once I've sorted them, I promise that I'll make finding him a top priority. And I'll personally bring him out to KO-35 myself," Tommy assured. "I'm as worried about him, and everyone else, as they are."

Andros nodded. "Thanks, Tommy. Well, I had better go now but I'll contact you straight away as soon as anything changes out here in space."

"We'll keep you informed if anything significant happens on our end as well," Billy vowed. "And, when we find Justin, I'll make sure that Tommy keeps his promise."

"Bye," Andros said as he shut down the communication link. After a moment of silence, Tommy cursed himself.

"Damn it! I forgot to ask whether they had the remnants of their Turbo Morphers with them or not!" he exclaimed. Billy groaned.

"Don't worry, Tommy, we'll ask them when they get in touch next time,"Alpha assured. Tommy nodded.

Zordon cleared his throat. "Well, Andros's news means that things are going well for us for now, anyway," he announced.

"I guess that we're going to have to wake the others now. As much as they need their sleep, they need to know about this information and we need to discuss where we are going to go from here," Tommy sighed.

Zordon smiled faintly. "The other Rangers and non-Rangers are not the only things that we will have to awaken from their slumber, Tommy. Soon we will have to waken the slumbering Zords as well and you will be the one calling them up from the depths of the Earth."

"How?" he asked instantly.

"The Dragon Dagger, Tommy, is what you will need to awaken them. It is a rather powerful weapon which has the ability to call to the most powerful Zords and to keep them under your command if the right object is present. Like, for instance, this green crystal," Zordon said as he revealed the green crystal sitting on his lap. Then, he looked directly to Tommy and Billy. "Both of you should remember how Tor was created, do you not?"

"You used a green crystal, similar to the one that you are holding right now, on a turtle to create him," Billy replied instantly.

Zordon nodded. "You have got a good memory, Billy. That is exactly what I did," he smiled as he paused for a second. "For instance, if I wanted to call Tor back from his slumber under the sands, all I would need is the Dragon Dagger and a green crystal. Together, they would call back Tor the Shuttlezord from the Earth."

Tommy nodded. "Do you want to call him back now?" he asked.

Zordon chuckled. "No, Tommy, I do not want you to bring him back now as the slumbering Zords should only be woken when we actually need them. Until then, they should just be left as they are because they possess great power which could be dangerous if they are used by the wrong hands. It is best that we are the only ones who know where these slumbering Zords are resting as, when they come out into the open, evil will go after their power."

There was silence for a few moments before Tommy sighed as he headed over to the console. "We had better call the Rangers up here now as we need to start discussing what we're going to do early so that we have some time to make several preparations before we leave to search for Hayley. We can't afford to waste any time now."

"How are we going to wake them all up, though?" RJ asked. "It would take too long to wake everyone the conventional way."

Tommy smiled. "Fortunately, I've got a better solution which won't disturb Kimberly in the infirmary," he assured them as he began searching the console for a specific button. "I can cause all of their morphers to start beeping which should have them all up here within a few minutes."

Tommy found the blue button marked with an alarm clock on it and pressed it. Seconds later, all of the morphers present in the Brachiozord started beeping to awaken the Power Rangers and their associated non-Rangers from their slumber.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, early in the morning, many minutes later_

It hadn't taken them all very long to make their way to the main Command Centre and, now, after Tommy had switched off the rather irritating beeping, they were all assembled in the Ranger Planning Room. The non-Rangers had been issued with communicators which allowed them through all security barriers in the Brachiozord and had teleport functions. Anton's had been crafted specifically to mask his DNA from the security scanners so that the system didn't accidentally believe him to be Mesegog and, for the first time, he could actually sit in the room without having to hold onto a Power Coin.

All those who had been aroused from their slumber weren't really all that aware of everything that was going on so Tommy decided to wake them. He slammed his fist onto the table and all of them quickly sat up in response.

"Sorry, guys, but you need to be alert right now. I know that I woke you all from a well earned rest but, believe me, I didn't have a choice. We've got some news which couldn't wait until later to tell you about," Tommy said apologetically.

Zordon stood. "I will take it from here, Tommy," he commanded. Tommy sat back down. "Firstly, we have received news from the Rangers in space. They are all outnumbered against the forces of evil but they plan to try to keep the evils out there from Earth for as long as possible regardless. Secondly, we have learned from Bulk and Skull that Zeltrax is currently holding Hayley prisoner."

"Are you sure?" Trent asked instantly as Zordon sat back down.

"Yes, Trent, Kira, we're sure that what Bulk and Skull told us is true," Tommy replied with a sad sigh. "Which means that we've got to now concentrate our efforts on finding her and getting her back from Zeltrax. It isn't going to be easy going out into the desert because of the harsh conditions and the difficult terrain so I'm not going to force anyone into coming with me. Anyone who wishes to volunteer may do so but I won't be allowing everyone to go with me as Corinth will still need to be defended from evil whilst I'm gone."

Everyone instantly volunteered and Tommy sighed.

"Perhaps I should do this slightly differently. Billy, you're in charge whilst I'm gone as you are the Ranger with the most experience, besides myself, here. Flynn, you're not going either as I need someone to keep Gem, Gemma and Ziggy under control because I'm taking Scott and Dillon with me. Kira, Summer, you have both gotten the most important task I can think of: I want you both to look after Kimberly whilst I'm gone. Trent, RJ, you're both coming as well because I'll need your camouflage ability, Trent, and I'll need your experience, RJ," Tommy commanded.

Protests were quickly raised by most of the Power Rangers being left behind but Tommy shrugged.

"There will be other times for the rest of you, I promise," Tommy vowed. "Anyway, I need to go tell Kimberly about this. She isn't going to like the fact that I'm leaving her very much."

With that, Tommy left to go see Kimberly. The Rangers began chatting amongst themselves as the non-Rangers sighed.

"Well, I guess for the majority of us it's back to rebuilding the Triceratops Dinozord," Dr K. sighed. "Oh well. At least we're making some contribution to this whole war."

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early in the morning, just after the meeting finished_

"Alpha, wait!" Billy called as they left the Ranger Planning Room. Alpha 5 stopped in its tracks and turned to Billy.

"Yes, Billy?" Alpha asked.

"During the last two years, I've been working on a way to use the Universal Morphing Grid to call across time to the future Power Rangers to bring them back to our time to aid us. The result was my Time Pulse device but my only problem with it is that I can't quite get it to work properly so, I was wondering, could you help me with it, Alpha?" Billy replied.

"Ai, Ai, Ai, of course," Alpha replied with excitement. "Anything which gives us a chance to bring the Rangers of the future back to the past is something which I'll devote as much time as I can to. Where is this device?"

Billy revealed it from its hiding place up his sleeve and held it out in the palm of his hand. It was about the size of a tennis ball and, to most people, it looked to be nothing more than a simple metallic sphere. Alpha took it in his hands and took it over to the console.

"Hmm...," Alpha said as he examined the internal wiring after he gently removed the main panel. He was looking for any obvious signs of ruined circuitry. "The circuitry all seems to be intact but I wonder whether it can create, and cope with, the massive amounts of energy which will be needed to call through time, Billy."

Billy nodded. "I've heard that Tommy built a lab into the Brachiozord. Perhaps we should go there to test it," he said.

Alpha nodded. "Tommy showed me it, Billy, and, believe me, it's rather cool. We should definitely go there to test this device. But I can't leave Zordon..."

Zordon, who was now sitting in the main Command Chair, smiled at this. "It is all right, Alpha, go help him. I will be perfectly fine up here by myself and, if I need you, I will certainly call for you. That Time Pulse is more important than an old sage," he assured.

Alpha nodded and left with Billy to test the Time Pulse at Zordon's command. At that moment, Trent came up from the Ranger Planning Room.

"Ah, Trent, I need to talk to you," Zordon smiled.

"Yes, Zordon?" Trent replied instantly.

Zordon revealed the green crystal which he had hidden amongst his robes during the meeting in the Ranger Planning Room earlier.

"I need you to look after this for me, Trent. It is a rather valuable, powerful and dangerous object so I implore you to keep it on you at all times and to keep it hidden from everyone else. When it is necessary to reveal it, I can assure you that Tommy will know what it is and what to do with it," Zordon said. Hesitantly, Trent took the crystal from Zordon.

"What is it? What does it do?" Trent asked instantly.

"Tommy will know what to do with it when the time comes for it to be used. Just keep it hidden until then, Trent," Zordon replied cryptically. Trent nodded as it was obvious to him that Zordon wasn't going to tell him anything else so he quickly decided not to press the issue any further because he'd just be wasting his time.

"I'll keep it hidden, Zordon, I promise," Trent assured him. Zordon smiled.

"That is all I can ask of you Trent," he replied.

Trent nodded and then, after hiding the crystal in his sleeve, he left. Zordon was now alone in the main Command Centre and that was just the way he liked it. He needed some rest and, since everything appeared to be rather quiet, he closed his eyes. As far as he was concerned, it wouldn't hurt to take a quick nap considering the fact that the massive amount of energy he had used earlier to create that power crystal had left him slightly drained. Besides, if anything happened, the alarm system, Alpha or Tommy were sure to wake him up.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, early in the morning_

As soon as Kimberly saw the look on Tommy's face as he entered the infirmary, she knew what he was going to say. He was leaving.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" she asked quietly. She had been woken by the beeping, despite the fact that she didn't have her morphers yet, because the RPM base was just above the infirmary and the sound had travelled downwards through the ceiling. It was clear to her that he hadn't expected her to be awake as he was surprised about hearing her voice.

"Yes, I've got to go. Zeltrax has Hayley and I've got to rescue her. You remember her don't you?" he replied.

She nodded. "I remember her. However, I don't want you to go, Tommy. Send the other Rangers instead," she pleaded.

"I can't. Zeltrax is my problem and none of them, besides Trent, know Zeltrax and Hayley by sight," Tommy replied. "I've got to go, Kimberly, but I promise you that I'll be back soon."

"Take me with you, then," she begged. "I'm awake now and I'm feeling much better than yesterday."

Tommy shook his head firmly. "No. You need to rest Kimberly because, as IRMA will agree with me, you haven't fully recovered yet."

IRMA, who had left her desk to go to her bedside, nodded in agreement with him. "He's right, Kimberly. You must rest."

"I want to go with you," she said stubbornly.

"You're not coming Kimberly. You need rest and you don't need me to be present whilst you recover either," Tommy replied firmly.

"You're just being bossy. Just because you're now in charge you think that you can get anyone to do anything you command them to. Well, you're not bossing me around. I'm coming whether you like it or not," she replied.

"You're not coming, Kimberly. How many times do I have to say it until you get the message? You need to rest and you need to stop acting like a spoiled child as well," Tommy snapped.

"I'm not a spoiled child," she exclaimed angrily. "How dare you, Tommy?"

"You're certainly acting like one from where I'm standing. Not to mention the fact that, you're acting stubborn and selfish as well," he replied coldly.

"I'm not," Kimberly exclaimed angrily. Her voice went up several octaves in the process as she stood up. "How dare you, Tommy?"

"I've heard enough," he replied harshly. "I don't have to listen to this, Kimberly, and you're not coming with me. Kira and Summer will be looking after you whilst I'm gone and that is all I have to say on this matter."

He stormed off at that moment and decided that he needed a shower to cool off and wash away a great deal of dirt so he left for the Zeo base to clean up. Kimberly, who was still extremely angry, burst into floods of tears as soon as he was gone.

IRMA sighed. _I don't think that either of them m__eant what they said there. Tommy was right to put his foot down but he shouldn't have been so harsh with her. Kimberly shouldn't have been so stubborn either... Looks like I'm stuck dealing with the consequences of both of their faults._

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zeo base, early in the morning_

As Tommy took the cold shower, the welcome harsh water rolled down his back. This was the first extensive proper shower that he had been able to have in two years. Whilst in hiding, he had been reduced to washing in the sea and, as the dirty colour of the water quickly told him, washing in the sea hadn't really taken all of the dirt off of him. Due to the fact that he had also been rather busy for the last two days as well, this was also the first time that he had managed to do more than wash his face as he had been left too tired at the end of the last two days to do much else.

_Why did she have to be so stubborn? _Tommy wondered. _I don't understand Kimberly at all right now. How could she be __so se__lfish? She knows that Hayley is a close friend and that I can't just leave her in Zeltrax's hands yet she still tried to convince me to stay behind._

Tommy paused for a moment. _I shouldn't have been so harsh on her though. I didn't mean it..._

He instantly sighed. He knew that he would have to apologise to her for what he said. However, he decided as he turned off the shower, fetched a towel and dried himself off that he wouldn't go see her before he left. She needed time to cool down and he needed some time to think up a suitable apology for his harshness.

As he tossed his dirty clothing and the towel down the laundry chute, to be washed, dried and returned to one of his wardrobes using the automatic laundry system built into the Brachiozord, he went to one of his many wardrobes and pulled out a fresh outfit. This time, it was a red shirt and black trousers. It definitely hadn't been worn before as Tommy hadn't worn any of the clothing which he had stored away in the Brachiozord because of the fact that he wanted to keep the outfits as new as he possibly could.

As soon as Tommy was dressed, he put all of his morphers, which he had dumped on one of his many beds before he had gotten into the shower, back into the right places. Once he had checked that he hadn't forgotten any of them, Tommy turned to make his way back up to the main Command Centre as he had suddenly remembered that he had promise to keep. He had to find a way of rewarding Bulk and Skull for their information and, as he began to walk up to the main Command Centre, he had a perfect idea of just how he would do it.

_Outside Corinth City,_ _Brachiozord Command Centre, early in the morning, a few minutes later_

Colonel Truman was on-screen. Zordon had left the Command Centre because they had agreed that it was best not to let Truman see him yet. Hence, Tommy was alone. They had both agreed that Truman would get that surprise later on if he accepted Tommy's offer of visiting the Brachiozord whilst he was gone. In exchange, Tommy wanted the Corinth Defence Force to treat Bulk and Skull as VIPs.

"... It isn't a big request, Colonel. Both of them have provided me with rather important information and they risked their lives to do so. They deserve to be rewarded for it, don't you think?" Tommy replied.

"But..." Colonel Truman began as Tommy quickly interrupted him.

"Besides, I could quite easily take the entire Brachiozord away to search for Hayley so I'm being rather nice by leaving it, and a majority of the Power Rangers within, behind to protect Corinth," he said with a smile.

Colonel Truman sighed as he gave in. "I'll get my best officers to treat them like VIPs, Dr Oliver. I'll bring them with me when I visit the Brachiozord later. Tell your mentor that I'm looking forward to meeting him in person soon."

"I'll tell him. Zordon of Eltar is looking forward to meeting you too, Colonel. When I get back, you'll hear the full tale of what happened," Tommy promised as he shut down the communication link.

Behind him, all those who were coming with him had prepared and were carrying backpacks full of essential supplies such as essential water and bandages. RJ had packed one for Tommy and Tommy smiled as RJ handed him it.

"Thanks, RJ," he replied. "I've been a bit preoccupied with dealing with Kimberly and Colonel Truman so I forgot to pack my supplies."

"I knew that you would forget so I packed your bag myself," RJ smiled as Zordon returned. "How did it go?"

Tommy sighed. "With Kimberly? Not very well. I did manage to bully Colonel Truman into doing something for me, though."

"We heard the argument in the RPM base," Scott said quietly.

Tommy sighed further. "I should've guessed that you might. I said some things which I didn't mean and Kimberly said some things which she didn't mean either whilst she was being slightly stubborn. Don't worry, I'll apologise for them later," he assured. "Are we all ready to go?"

Everyone nodded at this and Zordon smiled. "I can only wish you all luck as you are all going to need it," he said. "You have left Corinth in safe hands, I can assure you."

"I know," Tommy replied. "We'll be back as soon as we find and rescue Hayley. I promise."

At that moment, they left for the Ninjazord hangar together. They were all determined to find and rescue Hayley from Zeltrax before it was too late.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ninjazord hangar, mid-morning, minutes later_

"Are you sure that this is a good idea, Tommy?" RJ asked as Tommy opened the Ninjazord hangar door and leapt into the cockpit of the Falconzord. The others, minus their supplies which had been stored in the cockpit, were morphed and each of them held onto the edge of the wing.

"Of course it is. You've ridden outside a Zord before haven't you?" Tommy replied.

"No, I haven't," RJ replied.

"Neither have I," Scott added.

"Nor I but I'm sure that it's going to be an interesting experience," Dillon mused.

"I've done this before. Just don't look down and don't let go of the edge if you don't like heights. You'll be fine though because it isn't difficult," Trent assured as the Falconzord engines burst into life and it flew out of the Brachiozord. As soon as the Falconzord was in the air, Trent let go of the edge of the wing. The others, however, didn't dare to let go because they were afraid of what might happen to them.

"Wow, I had forgotten what it was like doing this. The excitement...," Trent said as he took a deep breath.

RJ dared then at that moment to let go of the wing and he too began to feel the excitement which it created within him before he had to hold tightly to the wing again as Tommy warned them that conditions were about to get difficult up ahead.

"We'll need to swap. All of you get into the cockpit so that I can ride on the wings because I'm slightly more experienced at riding on the back of Zord in difficult weather. You would all just be putting yourselves in unnecessary danger if you tried to survive through the kind of winds that the Falconzord is reporting to be up ahead," Tommy called as he leapt out of the cockpit. Scott and Dillon quickly obeyed his commands because they weren't that fond of the strange sensation which riding upon the wings brought them before RJ and Trent followed suit.

"Who's piloting?" Scott asked.

"No one, Scott," Tommy replied as he crouched down and held tightly to the back of the Falconzord as conditions grew rough with high winds, and lots of sand, battering against him. "The Falconzord is piloting itself towards a specific set of coordinates so you better not touch anything in there."

"Where are we going anyway?" RJ asked.

"We're going to see if Zeltrax is holding Hayley at the labour camp. If she isn't there, we can hope that we'll find some clues to where he might be holding her. If we can't find anything, we'll just have to go on to Reefside and hope that he's holding her there," Tommy replied as he sighed.

"Dr O., the Falconzord is warning that conditions are going to get a lot worse just ahead. Don't you think..." Trent began.

"I'm fine, Trent," Tommy assured him. "How long until we get there?"

"Another five or so minutes," Trent replied as the winds battering against him grew stronger. Tommy held on tightly to the back of the Falconzord and grimaced.

_Well, only another five minutes of difficult weather to survive through. If we had gone the other route, it would have been much worse. _Tommy thought as he sighed. As he held on tight, he began to block out his surroundings so that he could concentrate upon other more important things like how he was going to get Hayley back from Zeltrax and how he was going to apologise to Kimberly.

He flinched as her name came to the forefront of his mind. He certainly wasn't looking forward to apologising to her for leaving her behind. If something made her really angry, the consequences of her anger were never pleasant to think about.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, mid-morning, at that very moment_

Apprehensively, Kira and Summer entered the infirmary together. They were carrying their breakfast, and Kimberly's, on trays and, today, it was cornflakes and milk. They had been tasked with looking after Kimberly by Tommy before he had left to find Hayley and they knew, because she had been arguing with him, that she wasn't likely to be in a very good mood. From the advice that they had sought from Billy as he had worked away on the Time Pulse, they knew that she was usually so good natured that you couldn't fault her at all but, during those rare moments of anger, Billy had warned them that she definitely wasn't to be messed with.

"So you came and you even brought her breakfast with you. Thank you both," IRMA smiled as she looked up from her desk.

Kira smiled. "It was nothing, IRMA," she replied as they put their breakfast down on the bed beside Kimberly's and her breakfast on her bedside table. Kimberly didn't acknowledge their presence because she was lost in her thoughts as they fetched themselves chairs. They could tell that, by the expression on their face, she didn't really want their company this morning.

Summer and Kira quickly tucked into their breakfast and looked at each other with a sad grimace. They knew that it wasn't going to be easy getting Kimberly to interact with them.

Finally deciding to break the silence, IRMA came over to Kimberly's bedside.

"Aren't you going to eat something?" she asked. Kimberly shook her head.

"I'm not that hungry, IRMA," she replied.

"You should eat something, though," Summer insisted.

"I'm not hungry," Kimberly insisted as her stomach growled. It had given away the fact that she was likely lying to conceal the fact that she was actually starving from them because she was just so stubborn.

"Dr O. only had your best interests at heart when he left you here, Kimberly. He insisted on searching for you despite the risks and, once he had found you, he wouldn't leave your side at all whilst you were unconscious. Ask IRMA if you don't believe me. She'll tell you that he spent most of yesterday afternoon in here with you," Kira exclaimed as she was slightly annoyed by Kimberly's behaviour. "He'll likely come running back to your bedside as soon as he retrieves Hayley to apologise for what he said to you."

Kimberly was silent as Kira took a deep breath. "But he isn't the only one at fault, though," Kira finished.

"I know," she admitted. "I didn't mean what I said to him either. I didn't want to be left behind because, to be entirely honest, I'm afraid that something will happen to me whilst he's gone."

"Nothing will happen, Kimberly," Summer assured. "The Brachiozord has the best defences that I've ever seen. It's extremely difficult to get in here from the outside without permission and I can assure you, if something did get in, we wouldn't let it come anywhere near you."

"The Infirmary has extra defences as well, Kimberly. No one can get in here if I don't want them to," IRMA assured.

Kimberly smiled as she took up her breakfast and started eating. "Thanks, that makes me feel a bit better actually."

At that moment, the alarm went off again. Summer sighed as she put her breakfast down.

"No rest for us, I guess. We had better go find out which evil beings are terrorising Corinth," she sighed.

"We'll be back as soon as we can," Kira promised.

Kimberly smiled. "I know. Hopefully, I'll be able to join you soon."

They left her at that moment and Kimberly sighed. Sometimes, she really hated missing out on all the action.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zord Construction Bay, mid-morning, at that very moment_

"Now that the outer shell is complete, we had better start work on the circuitry," Dr K. informed them as she examined the faultless shell. It looked exactly like the plans for the Zord, right down to the paintwork, and she was rather pleased with their effort. Anton and Tenaya 15 were smiling as well as the results of their handiwork were beginning to take shape.

The alarm distracted them for a moment. "It looks like another evil is attacking Corinth. Well, we've got to keep working regardless of what's going on out there. Billy might need the Triceratops Dinozord soon so we'll want to get it finished so that we can move on to other things," Dr K. said as Tenaya 15 sighed.

"Give me the list of parts and I'll fetch them all," she demanded.

"Here," Dr K. replied as she handed Tenaya 15 the list from beside the computer terminal. Anton smiled.

"I'll help you," he said. With that, they both left to fetch the parts for the circuitry of the Triceratops Dinozord. Dr K. sighed in relief as she put her feet up for a few minutes. Sometimes, it was nice to have someone to do a lot of your work for you.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-morning_

They gathered in the Command Centre. Billy was first to arrive and, when he saw the villain on screen, he grimaced. His wife, Cestria, was discreetly scanning for any signs of the Original Rangers in the desert but she had found no traces of them so far. She had appeared in the Command Centre just after breakfast when she had finished preparing, and delivering, the many bowls of cornflakes and milk to all of the Rangers and she had been working non-stop to try to find the Rangers since then. However, as the other Power Rangers quickly arrived, she stopped working instantly to conceal what she was up to from them as they didn't know about last night's dreams and she knew that Zordon would surely want it to stay that way.

"That's Zeltrax, isn't it?" he asked Kira as she arrived with Summer. Kira nodded.

"Yes," she replied as everyone else showed up.

"What are we waiting for then? Let's go get him!" Flynn exclaimed.

"No," Zordon said quite firmly. "He's likely here to check that Tommy is still in Corinth. If he finds out that Tommy is not here, he will know that Tommy knows about what happened to Hayley already so he'll move her somewhere else. We can't allow that to happen."

"Zordon, we can't let him destroy Corinth!" Summer said. "Tommy wouldn't let that happen."

"I know," Zordon smiled. "Someone will have to be disguised as Tommy so that they can face Zeltrax. It will be quite difficult for me to disguise that person but I think I could manage to do it," he said as he paused. "We can hope that Zeltrax won't realise that person who is pretending to be Tommy isn't the real Tommy at all otherwise the real Tommy will never have a chance to rescue Hayley."

"I'll do it, Zordon. I've known Tommy the longest so I think I would be able to pass as Tommy if Zeltrax and I fought because I learned most of my moves off of him," Billy said. "Obviously I've just got to pretend that I don't know anything about Hayley as well."

Zordon nodded. "Yes, Billy. You will not be able to take your own morphers with you and, as Tommy did not leave any of his morphers behind, you will be relying completely on your skills to survive. Do you still want to do it?"

"Yes," Billy replied. "I do. We need to give Tommy the chance to rescue Hayley. I'm the best choice for this to have a chance to work."

Cestria, who now manned the console, nodded. "I agree, Zordon. Billy would be the best to do this."

"Very well. Before I can disguise you, though, you will need to go find some black clothing, Billy. Zeltrax was used to seeing Tommy in black and, if he sees you in blue, he will become suspicious. If he gets too suspicious, our deception may not work," Zordon warned.

Billy nodded. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

With that, Billy rushed out of the Command Centre and Zordon sighed. This was going to be a big risk but Zordon was confident that Billy would be able to pull it off because he had known Tommy for a long time and he also knew, from their time as Power Rangers together, how Tommy would react to certain situations.

Everything, though, hinged on Zeltrax and whether he would buy it or not.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, Falconzord cockpit, late morning_

The Falconzord had landed on a ridge near to the labour camp a few minutes ago. As soon as it had touched the ground, everyone had powered down, collected their supplies and waited for Tommy. Tommy was in the cockpit of the Falconzord running a scan to see if Hayley was still in the camp. He hoped that she was but he knew that it was very likely that Zeltrax had taken her somewhere else far away from the camp to make it more difficult for Tommy to find her.

When the Falconzord finished scanning the area, it was clear that Hayley wasn't there as the scan hadn't found any trace of her. Tommy angrily slammed his fist against the console in frustration before he quickly regained control over his temper again. He picked up his pack and dropped the rope tied to it in the cockpit as he left the Falconzord. Outside, Tommy shook his head in reply as the others waited expectantly for the results of the scan.

"She isn't here," Tommy said quietly as he turned to the Falconzord which regarded him with sorrow. "On you go back to the Brachiozord, Falconzord."

The Falconzord launched itself into the air and flew away. However, as Tommy hadn't put the Zord on autopilot, which would've compelled it to return to the Brachiozord, it could fly wherever it wanted to as long as it turned off its tracking signals, that is. And it intended to find the Original Rangers for its master.

"Dr O., you might want to see the conditions of the camp for yourself," Trent said grimly. Tommy nodded and, because he knew what he was about see would be appalling, he hesitantly approached the edge of the ridge they had landed on to look down at the camp below.

Standing there on the edge of the ridge, Tommy gazed across the labour camp. He was angry that Hayley wasn't down there but Tommy was also determined not to abandon the people before him to the Grinders to continue his search for Hayley. He turned to his companions, who all looked like they would agree with him anyway, as he tried to find words to convey his plan to them.

Trent, who was the closest to Tommy's side, watched the labour camp with grim sadness because he had once been a part of the labour gangs down there so he knew exactly how difficult it was to survive in that harsh environment. RJ, who looked away as Tommy glanced at him, was grim and Tommy knew that RJ was wondering whether his friends were still alive or not. He was also likely wondering if they too were trapped in the same conditions as the people down below them. Scott and Dillon, however, were quiet but Tommy could see that they were angry about the way the Grinders were treating the people.

"We can't leave them," Tommy finally said to break the silence between everyone. "However, I don't really know how we're going to get that many people back to the safety of Corinth. It will be a difficult task as I can't summon the Brachiozord away from Corinth because the city will then be left defenceless. If only we had another bigger mode of transport..."

Trent, surprising everyone, revealed at that moment he was carry the green crystal up that Zordon had secretly presented him with before they had left up his sleeve.

"I don't know why Zordon gave me this but he said that you would know what it is and why he gave it to me. Even though I tried to find out more about it, he wouldn't say anything else other than I had to keep it hidden," Trent said as he held it out in his outstretched hand to Tommy. Tommy gently took it from Trent and he almost instantly remembered where he had seen it before. Earlier in the day, when he had been in discussion with Zordon about the news they had received from Andros, it had been lying in Zordon's lap. In that discussion, Zordon had made reference to the slumbering Zords and what would be needed to awaken them.

"Tor... This is exactly what we need," Tommy smiled as he quickly hatched a plan of action in his mind. He took out his Dragon Power Coin and backed away from the ridge to avoid being spotted by the patrolling Grinders below. Then he morphed. Almost as soon as he morphed, the green crystal began vibrating as the Dragon Dagger started glowing with a green colour because they were reacting to each other's presence. The Power radiating out from the objects quickly made Tommy slip into a trance as he felt it coursing through his body.

"What's happening?" Scott asked. Tommy, though, wasn't listening to him and he appeared to be in another world entirely at that moment because he looked with a blank expression right through him.

"I think that I know about what is happening. The crystal is connected to a powerful being which Tommy is going to call forth from the Earth using the Dragon Dagger," RJ replied. "Just watch."

Tommy cast aside his helmet at that moment and calmly started playing the melody on the Dragon Dagger which would summon the great power from the depths of the sand. The melody was hauntingly beautiful and, after a few minutes, the ground began to shake. Tommy just closed his eyes in response to the shaking and he didn't let the shaking phase him as continued to play the melody on the Dragon Dagger. Finally, after the ground continued shaking for several more minutes, Tor the Shuttlezord burst forth from the sand down in the labour camp below. It was yawning as it woke from a long slumber in its resting place, hidden from the world, deep beneath the sand.

The Grinders fired upon Tor almost as soon as he appeared. The prisoners fled in all directions from the battle which begun as soon as Tor fired back at them whilst roaring threateningly in anger. Tommy, however, kept playing as if nothing was more important to him despite the fact the prisoners who were fleeing from the battle below were in danger. RJ knew then that Tommy had to be in a very deep trance and that they couldn't wait on him whilst the camp was being destroyed below.

"Trent, stay here and protect Tommy. Dillon, Scott, with me," RJ said grimly as he readied his morpher. Dillon and Scott nodded as Trent stood ready to protect Tommy if the Grinders spilled up onto the ridge from the camp below. Together, the three of them leapt down from the ridge to aid Tor by destroying the Grinders. Eventually RJ was thrown back into Tor as Scott and Dillon were also overwhelmed. It was then he decided it was time to morph.

"Ready?" RJ asked. They nodded in reply as they put the engine cells into the morphers.

"Ready," Dillon and Scott replied.

"Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!" RJ called as he activated his morpher.

"RPM, Get in Gear!" they called as they activated their morphers.

They morphed. Then, as quickly as they could, they got rid of all of the remaining Grinders. However, another problem soon developed. Their next problem was Tor. The Zord turned on them believing them to be enemies as it didn't recognise them to be Power Rangers. RJ dove out of the way as Tor fired at him but Dillon and Scott found it more difficult to escape the shots because Tor blocked their attempts to escape him.

"Tor, my friend, stop!" Tommy shouted as he appeared at the edge of the ridge. He had just snapped out of his trance and had stumbled to help them once he had sensed Tor's anger. Tor, despite Tommy's shout, continued firing so Tommy leapt down from the ridge. When Tor tried to grab Scott in its powerful jaw, Tommy landed between Tor and Scott to block Tor's attack by using the Dragon Dagger and the crystal.

"I said stop, Tor!" Tommy said as he struggled against Tor's powerful jaws. "Don't you remember me? It's me, Tommy."

Tor stopped its attack instantly but still growled threateningly. "Prove it."

"You took us to the Sword of Power in preparation for the Power Transfer so that Zack, Jason and Trini could give up their powers to go to Geneva to the World Peace Conference. Serpenterra tried to stop you but you still managed to get us there and back before it was too late, Tor," Tommy replied quickly. Tor stopped growling instantly.

"Tommy, I'm sorry for attacking all of you but I thought that you and your friends were with those Grinders," Tor apologised instantly once he had realised his mistake. Tommy nodded in reply as he relaxed and powered down. The other Power Rangers quickly followed his lead and powered down as Tommy looked around the ruined camp.

"You can all come out, now. We won't hurt you," he called with a gentle soothing tone to his voice.

Hesitantly, people started appearing from hiding places all over the camp. Tommy helped those who fell, mainly because they were that exhausted, because his Power Ranger instincts had kicked in again.

"Scott, Dillon, start handing out food to these people and give them whatever water you can spare," Tommy commanded as he began to help people get into Tor. "RJ, call the Brachiozord and tell Alpha to warn Colonel Truman that we'll be bringing these people back to Corinth and to safety so that he can prepare to receive them all. Ask Alpha to also send the Phoenix here as well because Tor is going to need a defender whilst it carries these people back to Corinth in case evil dares to attempt to strike him down."

Trent was tending to the injured nearby as Tommy finished issuing commands. "Dr O. I need a hand over here," he called almost as soon as Tommy was done.

Tommy turned to him and saw instantly that the little girl Trent was dealing with was in a bad shape. She was crying and she clung timidly to her mother who was trying to soothe the girl enough so that Trent could tend to the burns on her arms. Tommy went over to help him as the people continued to climb into Tor.

As gently as possible, Tommy took up the frightened child in his arms as soon as he got over to her. She attempted to struggle out of his grip but Tommy very gently sung a soothing melody to her which caused her to relax instantly. He was still struggling to interact with people a little here and there but some things, like his ability to get on well with children, hadn't changed at all even though he had been completely alone for the better part of two years.

"There," he said soothingly. "We're not going to hurt you."

Trent was amazed by how good Dr O. was with the girl because he hadn't quite expected his mentor to be so good with children but he didn't waste the opportunity that Tommy had given him and quickly tended to the girl's arm. Once he had done all he could for her, Tommy gently put her back down and she returned to her mother.

"Make sure that she sees a doctor as soon as she gets to Corinth," Tommy said to the mother before he turned to Trent.

"I didn't know that you were good with children," Trent said as they moved on to help an injured man. Tommy smiled.

"There's a lot that you don't know about me, Trent," Tommy replied calmly. "There's a lot I don't even know about myself. Up until that moment, I wasn't completely sure if I would still be good with children or not. I guess that I'm still as good as ever."

Tommy then searched a perimeter around the camp to find and gather all of the people who hadn't heard his call so that they left no one behind. It took Tommy quite a while but, after several searches, he was sure that he had found everyone that he could. Whilst Tommy had searched for those who had been missed, Scott and Dillon had handed out most of their supplies whilst RJ had spent most of the time in discussion with Alpha over a communications link. Trent had also tended to all the people with serious injuries as best as he could as well.

"What's the plan?" RJ asked as the Phoenix arrived overhead.

"The plan is that you're all going to go back to Corinth whilst I go on, alone, to find Hayley. I've a good idea where Zeltrax is holding her now and I don't intend to allow him a chance to hide her away in a place where I can't reach her," Tommy replied calmly. "RJ, I trust you to pilot the Phoenix. Dillon, Scott, Trent, you can go in Tor with those we rescued. The Shuttlezord will go to any coordinates you command it to automatically so you won't need me to pilot it."

Trent instantly protested as Scott and Dillon went into Tor carrying the crystal. They began to prepare to take off. "You can't go on alone. It's too dangerous Dr O.!"

Tommy looked away. "I'm used to the harsh conditions of the desert, Trent, and I can take care of myself."

"Dr O.!" Trent exclaimed. "Solitude hasn't changed you that much, has it? The Dr Oliver I knew wouldn't ever refuse the aid of others when it was offered to him."

Tommy sighed after a moment of silence because he knew that Trent was right.

"You're right, Trent, and I'm sorry for seeming so aloof to you," he admitted. "Solitude seems to have affected me more than I believed that it had originally. You and I'll go on together to Reefside to try to find and rescue Hayley whilst the others go back to Corinth."

Trent nodded as RJ leapt up to the Phoenix and Tor's jet engines burst into life.

"A present for you, Tommy," RJ called. "I think that Alpha knew what you were going to do."

Tommy looked up and noticed then that Alpha had tied the reins for both of their Raptor Riders down to the wings of the Phoenix. RJ quickly released them both and they leapt down to Tommy's side whilst squawking in excitement. Tommy put his hand on his black Raptor Rider and smiled as fond memories came to him. His Raptor Rider had come in very handy whilst he had been in hiding not just because it had helped him to constantly evade being caught by Grinders but because it had also allowed him to fetch his daily meal of fish from the sea as well. Now, both Raptor Riders would allow them to get to Reefside quickly to rescue Hayley before Zeltrax moved her anywhere else.

Trent had his own white Raptor Rider now. Tommy had built him one before the Venjix invasion and had raised it from infancy to the powerful beast it was now during the time since then.

"Thanks, RJ," Tommy called up to him. "We'll return to Corinth as soon as I save Hayley. Apologise to Kimberly for me, would you? I shouldn't have been so harsh with her and tell her that I promise that I'll come see her in person once I get back."

RJ nodded. "I will but I think that she'll already know that you didn't mean what you said, Tommy."

He then leapt into the cockpit of the Phoenix and followed after Tor as he set off towards Corinth. Tommy sighed and, after watching the Zords disappear into the distance, he climbed up onto the back of his Raptor Rider.

"We had better be off, Trent," Tommy said with a sigh as Trent got onto his Raptor Rider as well. Trent nodded.

"I've never ridden one of these before. Is it difficult?" Trent asked. Tommy shook his head.

"Not at all," he smiled. "Just hold on tight and the Raptor will do all the work."

With that, Tommy spurred his Raptor Rider into action with Trent quickly following suit. Within minutes, they were off towards Reefside leaving behind the ruins of the labour camp.

_Corinth City, In The Streets Near The Centre of The City, late morning_

Billy, who now looked exactly like Tommy because of Zordon's complicated magic, appeared in a flash of blue light behind Zeltrax. Fortunately, Zeltrax didn't turn to face him until after the light had subsided or the deception would have failed miserably.

"Ah, Dr Tommy Oliver, I wondered when you would show up. You didn't bring your Rangers?" Zeltrax said. He was slightly surprised that Billy was alone.

"No, I didn't. This is just between you and I, Zeltrax, so I thought that I'd handle it without them. You're hardly worth their time," Billy replied as he stood in a defensive stance with Saba, whom Alpha had somehow managed to call forth from the Universal Morphing Grid, at the ready to battle.

Zeltrax, however, laughed at this. "I'm not here to fight you, Tommy. I'm here to make a demand. You've got until midnight to surrender to me or I'll destroy your friend Hayley."

"How can I believe that you have her? For all I know, you could be lying about this," Billy demanded.

Zeltrax revealed a silver chain, with a star shaped locket hanging from it, which Billy guessed belonged to Hayley. He tossed to it to Billy who caught it in his hands.

"What have you done with her?" Billy asked as he took a moment to examine the locket as he pretended to confirm that it was genuine. He knew that, if any of Tommy's friends were threatened, Tommy would react exactly the same way as he had just there. So far, Billy hoped that his act, that his attempt to pretend to be Tommy, was convincing enough for Zeltrax so that he didn't suspect a thing. He couldn't tell, though, as Zeltrax had no facial expressions which Billy could judge upon.

"She's fine, Tommy Oliver, but she won't be for much longer. You've got until midnight to make your choice. Surrender or she dies," Zeltrax said as he vanished in a flash of green light.

Billy sighed in relief as it looked as though the deception had worked as Zeltrax had bought his act completely. He instantly teleported back to the Command Centre, vanishing in a flash of blue light, as soon as he was sure that Zeltrax was gone.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late morning, a minute or so later_

When Billy reappeared, the disguise melted away until he looked like himself again. Zordon was smiling in satisfaction. As for everyone else, they quickly congratulated him and commented on how good his deception had been. A lot of them said quite quickly that they would have mistaken him for Tommy if they didn't know of the deception. Billy smiled at this.

"Well, thanks, I guess. I think that Zeltrax bought it but I'm not completely sure. We'll just have to wait and see," Billy replied.

"We've had word from RJ. With the RPM Power Rangers, he's returning in the Phoenix. They are bringing with them an entire labour camp which, by releasing one of the slumbering Zords, Tor the Shuttlezord, Tommy and the Rangers freed from captivity. I've notified Colonel Truman that they're coming and, as far as I can tell, Tommy and Trent have continued on to Reefside to search for Hayley. The Rangers will be wanting their breakfasts when they get back so Cestria has left to make them something special," Alpha informed him.

Billy nodded as he handed Alpha the locket. "This locket, which Zeltrax threw at me to prove that he has her to me, belongs to Hayley. Could you keep it safe until it can be returned to her, Alpha?" he asked.

Alpha nodded. "I'll keep it safe, Billy."

"We must hope that this deception worked. Wherever Tommy may be out in the desert right now, he'll need all the time that we can give him so that he can find Hayley before it is too late," Zordon said.

As everyone else nodded in agreement to this, Billy looked out the viewing screen and sighed. _Wherever you are right now, Tommy, you had better appreciate the risk that I took there to buy you some time to search for Hayley. _He thought.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, late morning, at that very moment_

"Look there!" Trent exclaimed as he pointed to what looked like two people lying in the sand nearby. They had travelled quite a distance already, a distance which would have exhausted them if they had walked because of the blistering hot sun in the sky, and Tommy had just been talking about the fact that deep under the sands of the desert there were likely to be a lot of hidden secrets.

At the sight of the them lying there, Tommy forced his Raptor Rider to rush to their side. They were both unconscious and lying on their side in the sand. Even though their faces were dirty, and even though they had grown up considerably over the last six years, Tommy and Trent instantly recognised them as they jumped off their Raptor Riders.

"Cassidy Cornell and Devin Del Valle. Well, I never expected to see either of them again either," Tommy said as he turned them over. Trent checked their pulses.

"They're still alive but they look to be dehydrated," Trent said as he pulled out his water bottle and quickly poured a great deal of the water down their throats. They both swallowed the water quickly and Tommy, who knew that they weren't going to be able to go anywhere for a while, began to search his supplies for the makeshift tent. When he found it, he sighed.

"I'll set up the tent," he declared. "Just stay with them and keep them hydrated until we can get them into the shade."

Tommy then set to work. He didn't know how long it would take him but he did know one thing. He would have to wait until both Cassidy and Devin woke, and were sent back to the Brachiozord, before he could resume the search for Hayley. He just hoped that she could survive until then.

_Reefside, Derelict Building, late morning, at that very moment_

As the door swung open into the derelict building that had once been Hayley's Cyberspace Café, she looked up from where she lay tied up on the floor, barely conscious of her surroundings, to see who had entered.

Zeltrax, who was leaning against one of the tables as he guarded her, looked up as well and smiled when he saw who was standing in the doorway.

"Hello, father," Goldenrod asked as he stepped in. "Did you miss me?"


	14. Chapter 10: Waves

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 10: Waves

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, early afternoon_

"It's all right, Alpha. I understand completely," Tommy sighed. "I'll be in touch as soon as I've managed to rescue Hayley from Zeltrax. Tommy out."

He shut down the communication link with the Brachiozord and sighed again.

"Dr O. we can't take Cassidy and Devin with us. They'll only put us in more danger in Reefside whilst we search for Hayley," Trent protested.

"I know that Trent. I don't like the idea of bringing them with us either but we've got no other alternative. The Falconzord has gone missing and they can't risk sending us another Zord. You heard Alpha when he said that Zeltrax appeared in Corinth. If Alpha was to send us a Zord, Zeltrax would know that I'm coming for her. Then, he would almost certainly move Hayley somewhere else. Hence, we need Zeltrax to still believe that I'm in Corinth otherwise we'll never get a chance to rescue Hayley from his grasp," Tommy replied as he sighed. "Cassidy and Devin will just have to come with us to Reefside."

At that moment, groans came from inside the tent. Trent turned and rushed into the tent as Tommy calmly followed behind him. Tommy remained in the doorway into the tent whilst Trent went directly to their sides.

"Cassidy, Devin, can you hear me?" Trent asked.

"Trent?" Cassidy asked as she and Devin woke. They slowly sat up as Trent smiled.

"I'm here," Trent replied. "Are you guys all right now?"

"What happened?" Cassidy asked. "All I can remember is running away from the camp and then... darkness."

"We found you both lying on the sand, Cassidy, Devin. You must have both collapsed from exhaustion," Tommy replied. "I'm glad that you're both awake."

"Dr Oliver but..." Cassidy began. She was quite clearly confused.

"We thought that you were dead," Devin finished.

"Alas, no. Up until a few days ago, I was merely in hiding," Tommy replied. "My friend found Trent, Kira and Anton and brought them to me."

"I'd have been dead right now if his friend hadn't rescued us," Trent added.

"But..." Devin began. Tommy instantly became alert as the Raptor Riders started to growl.

"Trent! We've got company!" Tommy warned as he turned to see Grinders approaching the tent. He ducked to the ground as the Grinders opened fire on them and Trent used his body to shield Cassidy and Devin from the debris. As soon as the Grinders stopped firing, Tommy pulled out a morpher from his pocket as he got to his feet.

"I've had quite enough of this. It's Morphin' Time! Tigerzord!" Tommy called as he activated his morpher, morphed into the White Ranger and drew Saba. Then, he began taking out Grinders as Trent sighed.

"Don't take all the fun, Dr O.," Trent called as the Drago Morpher appeared on his wrist and he activated it. "White Ranger, Dino Power!"

Trent morphed into the White Dino Ranger. Then, he rushed into battle and, after a few minutes, they had decimated the two dozen Grinders who had attacked them. Lots of parts from the Grinders lay strewn across the ground around the tent and the Raptor Riders started to get agitated once the battle was over.

"Trent, I think that we had better get out of here. There must be more Grinders on their way," Tommy warned as he powered down.

Trent nodded as he powered down. In the distance, after they had looked around, they recognised more Grinders, which appeared to be small dots in the distances, rapidly approaching their camp. Tommy didn't want to hang around to fight them so he hauled Cassidy over his shoulder and carried her to the black Raptor Rider despite her protests. Devin, however, just got up and climbed onto the white Raptor Rider behind Trent.

"I'm sorry for this, Cassidy, but there isn't a lot of time for courtesy. We've got to get out of here but I promise you that I'll explain things later," Tommy replied as he unceremoniously dumped her onto the Raptor Rider and got on behind her. Then, he spurred his Raptor Rider into action and Trent quickly followed his lead.

Seconds later, both Raptor Riders were fleeing at full speed across the desert towards Reefside so that they could escape from the camp before the approaching Grinders noticed them.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early afternoon_

"So what now, Zordon?" Alpha asked as he turned to the old sage.

"We will just have to hope that the Falconzord returns from its task soon, Alpha. Keep trying to find it in the meantime anyway but it is highly unlikely that you will. It doesn't seem to want to be found," Zordon replied. "As for Tommy, monitor his progress and inform me when he arrives in Reefside."

Alpha nodded. "Yes, Zordon."

Billy, who was working on the console as well, sighed. Before he could say anything, the alarm went off again and the lighting turned red.

"Report," Zordon demanded.

"Ai, Ai, Ai, Tor the Shuttlezord and the Phoenix have come under attack!" Alpha exclaimed.

At that moment, the remaining RPM Rangers and Kira rushed in. Billy repeated Alpha 5's information.

Then, he added as he looked to Zordon. "... RPM Power Rangers, you must take your Megazords and defend Tor. RJ's doing his best but the Phoenix won't be enough."

Zordon nodded to show that he agreed with Billy's plan.

"Kira and Billy will stay here to monitor the situation," Zordon added. "I have absolute faith in you, RPM Power Rangers. Go."

"Yes, Zordon," they replied as they left.

"I'm missing out on all the fun," Kira pouted as she turned to help Billy at the console.

Gem and Gemma, however, took things a slight step further as they got out into the corridor and followed their fellow RPM Power Rangers down to the nearest hangar. They were using the nearest Zord hangar to get out into the desert to summon their Zords so that they didn't have to go all the way down through the maze of corridors to the tip of the Brachiozord's tail to leave the massive Zord as it would just take them too long.

"Oh yeah, it's Major Boom Time!" they celebrated. "The evil who has attacked those defenceless innocents will soon learn that they made a big mistake when we appear on the scene."

Summer smiled. Sometimes, it was nice to have them both around as they often lightened the mood with their outbursts of confidence. However, she, like everyone else, knew that they couldn't be overconfident against any of the evils that they faced in battle because you never quite knew what you were up against. Appearances, after all, could be rather deceiving.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, quite far from Corinth City, early afternoon, a few minutes later_

"There!" Summer exclaimed as she pointed out the faint shapes of Tor and the Phoenix in the distance.

"I'm on it," Flynn replied as he increased their speed to get to them faster. Flynn, Summer and Ziggy were in the High Octane Megazord with the Tail Spinner attached to it whilst Gem and Gemma were in their Mach Megazord above them.

As they grew closer, the monster came on-screen with a number of spots highlighted in red but it didn't match up with any villain in the database of known villains.

"Rangers, this monster is not one of the major villains or their generals," Alpha warned them. "We've got no idea what you're up against right now."

"Billy, what are the spots highlighted in red?" Ziggy asked.

"I can only assume that Tommy downloaded the program which highlights a monster's weaknesses onto your Zord's hard-drives. The spots highlighted will be the ones where this villain is most vulnerable and, if you strike them, you'll likely do a lot of damage to the villain," Billy replied.

"All right!" Gem exclaimed. "Now we can make an even bigger..."

"Boom!" Gemma finished.

At that moment, the monster looked up to see the two Megazords upon her.

Flynn struck first to knock her down to the ground using the Tail Spinner before Gem and Gemma fired endlessly at her. After being struck several times, she got up and fled.

"Come back! We're not finished with you," Gem and Gemma called as they were about to follow in pursuit. Before they could, though, RJ appeared on-screen.

"Stand down, my trigger-happy friends," RJ commanded with a smile. "As much as I don't want to see her get away as well, we've got bigger priorities right now."

"But..." Gem and Gemma began.

"There'll be another time to destroy her, I assure you," RJ replied calmly.

At that moment, Scott and Dillon appeared on-screen to everyone as Flynn, Summer and Ziggy joined the conversation too.

"Are you guys all right?" Flynn asked with concern.

"We're just fine over here," Dillon assured them. "We've not sustained any casualties or damage."

"The Phoenix isn't damaged either," RJ assured them as well.

There was silence for a moment. "Who was she, anyway?" Summer asked. Scott and Dillon shrugged.

"She came out of nowhere so we haven't got a clue who she was," Scott replied.

"Right, we can consider all of these questions when we get back to Corinth. Our priority now is to get all these innocent people to safety," RJ replied. "You guys go back to the Brachiozord. Dillon, Scott and I should be all right from here."

With that, both RPM Megazords turned to make their way back to the Brachiozord at full speed. Then, Tor the Shuttlezord and the Phoenix followed close behind them.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, early afternoon, at that very moment_

The Falconzord had swept through another sector of the desert which it had suspected that the Original Rangers could be in. However, there had been no sign of them anywhere. It only hoped that it found them soon before it became too late to rescue them.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, early afternoon, also at that very moment_

Jason ducked behind another bank of sand as he, Trini and Zack continued to flee from the Grinders.

"We can't keep this up much longer, Jason," Trini warned as she took several deep breaths. "Those Grinders are just relentless."

Zack nodded in agreement as Jason sighed.

"I know that. We've got to keep going, though," he replied. "Tommy will be looking for us right now so we've just got to keep ahead of the Grinders until he finds us."

"We still don't know if he's even able to search for us or not," Zack replied.

"Tommy will come," Jason replied firmly. "I've got absolute faith in him. He won't let us die out here."

At that moment, they heard sound of the metallic Grinders approaching. Jason peered over the sand bank and saw them off in the distance.

"It's time to go, guys," he said grimly. Trini and Zack nodded and they fled further into the desert again. They all hoped that Tommy found them before it was too late as they knew that they wouldn't be able to outrun the Grinders for much longer.

_Corinth City, early afternoon_

The Corinth Defence Force had prepared a specialist area for emergency treatment of all the refugees who needed it. Doctors were there to treat those with minor injuries whilst ambulances waited to take those with major illnesses or injuries to hospital. Clothing, food and water were all awaiting the refugees as well. Security officers surrounded the perimeter to keep the press far away so that the refugees could get some much needed privacy.

"Here it comes, Corporal," Cestria smiled as she pointed out Tor the Shuttlezord to Corporal Hicks as it came through the shields with the Phoenix at its side. Corporal Hicks had been left in charge of this operation because Colonel Truman was preparing the best scientists to take to Dr K. in the Brachiozord and Cestria had been sent by Zordon to deliver breakfast to the Rangers who had returned. She was carrying a tray with three, still hot, bacon sandwiches which she was using her psychic powers to keep warm.

As Tor landed, RJ leapt out of the Phoenix and it returned automatically to the Brachiozord. Then, he leapt between buildings to get down to the ground.

"Ah, RJ, this is Corporal Hicks from the Corinth Defence Force. Colonel Truman has left him in charge of this entire operation," Cestria said in introduction as RJ approached them. Behind them, Tor was shutting down its engines as it prepared to unload its cargo.

RJ smiled. "Nice to meet you, Hicks. Is that breakfast I can smell?" he asked instantly.

Cestria laughed helplessly and nodded as she revealed the bacon sandwiches on the tray. "Yes, it is. Although, you can actually call it lunch now because you've been gone for a long time."

RJ smiled and took one of the sandwiches. He began to eat it as the hatch into Tor opened and Scott came out.

"Welcome to Corinth," he said simply as the refugees hesitantly started pouring out. One by one, they were each assigned a Corinth Defence Force security officer who escorted them through as they went to get water, food, clothing and then to a medical examination.

The refugees were laughing and crying alike as they saw that they were finally safe. Dillon came out of Tor with the green crystal and handed it to RJ as RJ finished his breakfast.

"You would be best to keep this and give it to Zordon," Dillon said just as the smell of the bacon reached his nostrils.

"Is that..." Dillon began as RJ laughed helplessly.

"Yes, breakfast," Cestria smiled as she held out the tray. Dillon instantly turned to Scott.

"Hey, Scott, get over here. Cestria has been kind enough to bring us breakfast," Dillon called. Scott looked up and, as he saw Dillon take up his bacon sandwich, he instantly rushed over from where he stood outside Tor.

Just as Scott took up his bacon sandwich, the ground shook and all of their morphers beeped.

"Rangers, get back to the Brachiozord immediately. It's an emergency," Alpha called through their communication link.

"Damn," Scott exclaimed. "Just as I finally get my breakfast, something has to interrupt me."

"It's part of being a Power Ranger," RJ replied as he turned to Cestria. "I trust that you'll send Tor to the Brachiozord once it's unloaded, Cestria."

She nodded. "I'll come back in Tor myself. Now go on."

RJ nodded as he activated the teleportation controls on his morpher. Grumbling, Scott and Dillon did the same. Seconds later, they vanished in flashes of coloured light.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early afternoon, a few minutes later_

"Ah, everyone is here now. Good," Zordon said as RJ, Dillon and Scott reappeared in the Command Centre.

"What's the emergency, Zordon?" RJ asked.

"That," Billy answered as he pointed to the live video link on-screen. A monster had just appeared in Corinth. "She appeared a few minutes ago and the city is in general panic now."

"Hey, isn't that the monster who attacked us earlier?" Scott asked as he recognised her. Both Dillon and RJ nodded.

"It certainly looks like it," Dillon added.

"There's no mistaking her. Of course she's the one who attacked us earlier," RJ answered.

"I know. She seemed pretty weak earlier but there's something I don't like about that. I've got a funny feeling that she's much stronger than she appears," Billy replied. "I've also got this funny feeling that we're in a great deal of danger."

"I believe the same, Billy," Zordon said after a moment. "She is not a major villain so I am going to assume that she is a minor villain who has been created by one of the major villains in an attempt to distract us."

"Could Zeltrax be behind this, Zordon?" Kira suggested. "He could be using this as an attempt to distract Dr O. from searching for Hayley so that he's "forced" to surrender. After all, he believes that Dr O. is still here and he'll want Dr O. to surrender to him."

Zordon thought about it for a moment. "It is very possible that Zeltrax is behind this, Kira," he replied. "So it is very important that we destroy this villain as fast as we possibly can."

"We'll do our best, Zordon," Billy promised.

"Prepare for teleportation, Rangers," Alpha warned. "And good luck."

Seconds later, the Power Rangers vanished in flashes of coloured light.

_Corinth City, early afternoon_

"Ah, Rangers, I've been expecting you," she said as they appeared in flashes of coloured light in front of her. Now that they had the chance, the Power Rangers took a good look at her. She was dressed in flowing silver armour which looked quite like a dress in appearance and her hair was a purplish pink colour.

"Who are you? Who sent you?" Billy demanded.

"My master, Mesogog, sent me," she replied. "I am Croonia."

"If Mesogog sent her, Zeltrax must be working for him again," Kira said as she turned rather pale.

"Or they both might just have a common interest. They'll both want Tommy Oliver out of their way," Billy added. "We're not going to let that happen. Neither are we going to let you destroy Corinth."

"You think that you can stop me?" she asked. Her voice went up several octaves in the process. "Ha, I'd like to see you try."

"Ready?" Billy asked as he held his Triceratops Power Coin out.

"Ready," was the unanimous reply.

"It's Morphin' Time! Triceratops!" Billy said as he activated his Power Coin.

"RPM," the RPM Rangers called as they put their engine cells into their morphers and shut the compartments. "Get in Gear!"

"Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!" RJ called as he activated his morpher and went through the stances.

"Dino Thunder, power up! Ha!" Kira finished. They morphed and charged into battle.

Taking turns, they attacked Croonia in pairs. However, each time, they were beaten back for some reason or another. RJ and Billy were the final pair to attack and they managed to land blows which cracked Croonia's armour.

"Fools," she hissed as an odd sword appeared in her hand. It had a round black sphere at the top of the silver hilt and a strange greyish pink blade. "You'll pay for that!"

The ground began to tremble slightly as she clapped her hands together.

"I don't like this. Brace yourselves," Billy warned.

"I'll stop her," Kira vowed as she prepared to unleash a Ptera-Scream. As Kira unleashed her Ptera-Scream, Croonia unleashed sound-waves of her own. The sound-waves clashed and Kira was powered down after the sound subsided.

She groaned and looked at the others. They were frozen to the spot and Croonia was laughing.

"What have you done to them?" Kira demanded. Croonia looked up.

"So I missed one? No bother, I'll just do it again," Croonia noted. "Prepare for your end, Ranger."

Reacting quickly, Kira activated her communicator on her morpher just before the ground began to shake.

"Alpha, emergency teleport, now!" she exclaimed.

Just as Croonia unleashed her sound-waves, Kira and the other Rangers vanished back to the Brachiozord in flashes of coloured light.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early afternoon, a few minutes later_

"What happened to them, Alpha?" Kira asked as Alpha initiated a scan on those Rangers who had been frozen to the spot. A few minutes had passed since they had reappeared in the Command Centre and Kira was starting to get worried.

"Croonia's sound-waves must have paralysed them, Kira," Alpha replied as he finished his scan and analysed the results. "They're still conscious of their surroundings and they're still morphed as far I can tell. I just don't know what I can do for them, though."

"Why didn't it affect me then?" Kira asked.

_The Ptera-Scream cancelled out the sound-waves and protected you, Kira. _Billy thought.

"Your Ptera-Scream cancelled out the sound-wave in the area around you so that were protected from its effects," Cestria said as she entered. She had just returned with Tor the Shuttlezord to the Brachiozord Command Centre only a few minutes before. From the Dinozord hangar, she had made her way up to the main Command Centre as soon as she had arrived. "Or so Billy believes anyway," she amended.

"But..." Kira began.

"Cestria, I would warn you to be very careful with what you say. They are still conscious even though they have been paralysed," Zordon warned as he interrupted Kira.

"I'm not going to say a thing, Zordon. Only do," Cestria replied as she went to her husband. She took off his helmet and calmly cast it aside. Then, she closed her eyes.

_Cestria... you can't do this. I don't think that revealing the truth is a good idea... _Billy thought.

"Oh do stop worrying, Billy. I'm not going to be _that _stupid," Cestria snapped as she listened to his thoughts. Seconds later, he gasped in air as he was free of the paralysis. Cestria crumpled with exhaustion and he caught her in his arms.

"You shouldn't have done that," Billy warned.

_What just happened? What did she just do? _The other paralysed Rangers and Kira wondered.

"I had no other choice," Cestria replied calmly as he lifted her into his arms. Then, he lifted her over into the other free chair at the console as he powered down. He turned to Zordon.

"Cestria could only free me because of the negative charge which I had absorbed during the explosion of the original Command Centre which she used to cancel out the paralysis. However, we're going to have to find another way to free the others," Billy informed him.

"What just happened?" Kira demanded.

"I'm telekinetic, Kira," Cestria replied wearily. "I come from a long line of people who've been able to use their minds to do powerful things."

To demonstrate, Cestria caused the Yellow Dino Gem in Kira's morpher to fly out into her outstretched hand.

"Stop, Cestria! Don't over exert yourself any further than you've done already," Billy said as he took the gem from her and returned it to Kira.

"Wow," was all Kira could say. She was unaware that she was echoing the thoughts of everyone paralysed as well.

"Billy, do you think that you might be able to come up with a way to free them?" Zordon asked. Billy nodded.

"I'll try, Zordon," Billy promised. "It might take a while but I'll try to find a way to free them."

"And whist we're working to free them, Croonia is free to cause destruction in Corinth without anyone to stop her," Kira said grimly.

Alpha nodded. "Let's hope that we can free them quickly then."

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, early afternoon, at that very moment_

The Rhino Steel Zord continued to charge through the desert with Fran and Dominic on its back. They were getting closer and closer to Corinth with each passing minute. Both of them knew that it was only a matter of time before they reached the domed city but neither of them were confident that they'd find any of their friends there.

It was at that moment, Fran turned. "Look out!" she screamed. Dominic didn't have time to react as, seconds later, her full body weight slammed into him. Then, he blacked out as he was knocked off the back of the Rhino Steel Zord.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, mid-afternoon, at that very moment_

Tommy looked around to check that they had lost the Grinders. Once he was sure that it was safe to stop, he reined in his Raptor Rider and Trent copied his gesture.

"Why have we stopped?" Trent asked as he dismounted.

"We've stopped for lunch, Trent. I don't know about you but I'm rather hungry now. We haven't had our breakfast or our lunch yet so we won't be in any fit state to fight later. If we've got to do any fighting in Reefside, that is," Tommy replied as he dismounted.

"You've got food?" Cassidy exclaimed as she dismounted. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Tommy smiled. "We've been a bit busy fleeing from Grinders to stop so I didn't want to mention it until now."

He opened his rucksack to reveal that RJ had packed quite a generous feast. Devin's mouth watered and, before anyone could say anything, he had instantly snatched several things from the backpack after he had dismounted. Then, he happily began to eat everything that he had taken.

Cassidy copied his gesture before Tommy and Trent helped themselves to a slightly generous lunch. As they settled down onto the sand, Tommy began to explain the things which he had promised to explain to Cassidy and Devin as soon as he had gotten the chance.

He only hoped that Hayley could wait just a little longer for them. They were almost at Reefside now, he was sure of it, but he knew that the sight of it would shock Cassidy, Devin and Trent a great deal. The Reefside of today was much different from the Reefside that they had known two years ago and he didn't know how to prepare them for it.

"Dr O., are you all right?" Cassidy asked concerned as he had unknowingly stopped his explanation in mid-sentence as the thoughts of Hayley and Reefside crossed his mind. He blinked.

"I'm just fine. Anyway..." he replied as he continued his explanation.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-afternoon_

Their latest attempt to free the paralysed Rangers failed yet again. Alpha sighed.

"I'm sorry, Zordon. Nothing that we've tried seems to have worked," Alpha said as he turned to him. Billy was grim.

"That was my last idea. The only other option we've got now is to go out and destroy Croonia to release them," he added.

Zordon shook his head. "No. You would not stand a chance against her. There is one other thing that we have not tried, yet."

"Oh no, Zordon. You can't!" Alpha exclaimed instantly as Zordon stood up.

"There is no other way," Zordon replied calmly. "Give me some space."

Kira, Billy and Alpha backed away from Zordon as he picked up his staff from the side of the chair before he proceeded to gather his energy to fight off the paralysis. Bolts of white light shot out from his staff to each of the Rangers to form ties to him and, after a few minutes, the paralysed Rangers were free.

The lights shot back into Zordon and he stumbled back into his chair with a satisfied look upon his face.

"Ouch," RJ grimaced as he stretched and several of his bones cracked back into place. "Thanks, Zordon."

"I'm going to make Croonia pay for that," Scott growled angrily as he prepared to leave. Billy, however, stopped him.

"No," he said calmly. "Not yet."

"But Croonia..." Scott began.

"You will all need a plan, first," Zordon warned. "Croonia is a dangerous enough opponent as it is and you will only be putting yourselves in even more danger if you rush in blind."

"We can't afford to wait, Zordon. Look!" Flynn said as he pointed to the TV channel news program which had been brought up onto the Brachiozord's viewing screen at that moment.

"... The monster still continues to wreak havoc across Corinth with its sound-waves. A number of people have already been injured. The Corinth Defence Force are asking for the panic to cease and for citizens to remain indoors where they can," the reporter was saying. "There is still no sign of the Power Rangers after their defeat earlier. A growing number of people are angry that Corinth has been attacked by monster after monster since Power Rangers began to show up from nowhere. These people have now met to discuss their next move in the Corinth Town Hall. We'll bring you a live report from the Town Hall once the conference is over."

"That's disturbing," Billy said grimly. "Never in all my years have I seen the people turning away from the Power Rangers before. We're only here to protect them from evil yet they're angry at us for the increase in the number of evil beings which show up in Corinth. We're not bringing them here. They're coming here because Corinth is probably the only major hub of civilisation in the world and, if it falls, there will be no-one on Earth to oppose their attempt to gain world domination."

"We still have to plan our next move rather carefully, first. We would only make those angry at us even angrier if we failed again," RJ replied calmly. "If we get our plan right, we should be able to destroy Croonia without too much effort but we'll have to work together to make it work."

Billy looked at everyone. "RJ is right. Well?"

"We'll wait for the plan," was the unanimous reply.

"So, does anyone have any ideas?" Ziggy asked.

_Reefside, Reefside beach, mid-afternoon_

"So what's the plan?" Cassidy asked eagerly.

"The plan is that you're both going to stay here whilst Trent and I go to search for Hayley. Reefside is dangerously unstable in many places so you would only be putting yourselves in unnecessary danger if you came with us," Tommy replied. "Besides, I've got an important task for you guys."

"What task?" Devin asked eagerly.

"I need you to look after the Raptor Riders and my power coins whilst we're gone," Tommy said as he took the all of Power Coins out of his pocket and handed them to Cassidy. Trent dismounted.

"I trust that you'll both take good care of them. I'm not taking them with me into Reefside because I might drop them and I don't really want to have to go back to look all over for them," Tommy smiled. Cassidy nodded.

"Consider it done, Dr O.," Cassidy replied as she concealed the Power Coins amongst the fabric of her skirt as Tommy concentrated for a moment. Seconds later, a black glow surrounded everyone. Once it vanished, Tommy smiled.

"Now, you won't be in danger as we're all invisible to anyone who might be watching for us. We'll be back soon," Tommy said. "Trent?"

"I'm coming," Trent replied as they walked away towards Reefside. "Is it really that bad, Dr O.?"

Tommy nodded. "Yes. Reefside is really that dangerous now. You don't want to be stuck here at night either, Trent, trust me."

They entered the town and Trent turned rather pale. The streets were covered in sand and doors and windows had been smashed long ago. Some buildings were almost rubble whilst others were missing large chunks of the walls. Nearly all of them were also missing their roofs.

"Wow, I never expected it to be this bad," he said grimly.

"It's even worse than it looks. We'd better split up as we've got a lot of buildings to search but I'm confident that Hayley is here somewhere. Just be careful, Trent, and quiet," Tommy warned.

"If I find Hayley, I'll get to a safe spot and communicate with you," Trent promised.

"So will I," Tommy vowed as they split up and began the process of searching the buildings one by one for Hayley.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, mid-afternoon, at that very moment_

"Keep running!" Jason exclaimed as they struggled onwards through the desert with Grinders close behind them. "We've got to outrun them!"

"There's no escape!" Zack warned as the Grinders closed in on them. The Grinders had trapped them and encircled them to make sure that there wasn't any escape this time.

"I know that, Zack," Jason growled.

"Well, it would be a really good time for Tommy to show up now. If he doesn't, we're done for," Trini said. She waited for a moment until they could safely say that nothing was going to happen. Then, she called out in frustration which caused the stone around her neck to glow. "You're meant to take that as a hint, Tommy!"

Without any warning, the Falconzord suddenly appeared in a flash of green light above them. Just as the Grinders prepared to fire, the Falconzord took them out.

"Wow, it actually worked," Trini said with surprise as she blinked. Jason and Zack both hugged her tightly.

"Sometimes Trini, your terrifying temper actually comes in handy," Jason smiled. "Your shout must have allowed Tommy to find us. Look, it's the Falconzord."

As the Falconzord landed, they rushed over to it and entered once the hatch opened. They were expecting to find Tommy inside but, instead, they found it was empty.

"He isn't here," Trini sighed.

"It can't have piloted here by itself!" Zack exclaimed. Jason shrugged.

"I'm not the expert but I'll assume that it must be able to think for itself on a limited level," Jason replied. "It wouldn't have been able to find us otherwise."

To confirm his guess, the Falconzord squawked as the hatch closed and the engines fired up. Then their destination came up on-screen.

"Corinth City? He's there?" Jason asked. A green tick appeared on-screen and Trini laughed helplessly as the Falconzord took flight.

"You're talking to a Zord, Jason," she warned as Zack sniggered. Jason shrugged as he sat in the pilot's seat.

"I'm talking to a _sentient _Zord, Trini. It can think for itself and act for itself so it's more like a person than you think. Although it can't communicate very well yet," Jason replied.

The Falconzord squawked in agreement as the conversation quickly switched to other things that they wanted to discuss.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late afternoon_

"I've got it," Billy exclaimed as an idea suddenly came into his head. "Here's what we'll do..." he began as the others huddled around him.

_Corinth City, late afternoon, several minutes later_

"Hey Croonia, over here. I've got unfinished business with you!" Kira called as she surprised Croonia and struck her in Super Dino Mode. Then, she sprung back.

"Ranger!" she exclaimed. "You'll pay for that!"

"No she won't. Power Lance!" Billy replied as he struck her with the lance before he fell back to one side of her.

She turned to Billy and was about to attack him when RJ struck her whilst her back was turned.

"You should always look behind you! Wolf Beam!" RJ warned as he activated his morpher and the purple beams of light attacked her.

Croonia was confused. "But..." she said as she looked between Kira, RJ and Billy who were all at different sides of her. Her fatal mistake was that she had her back turned to the RPM Power Rangers and that's when they delivered the finishing blow.

"RPM Enforcer! Fire!" Scott called as he pulled the trigger.

"Maybe it's your turn to be frozen," Gem and Gemma suggested as they set their Cloud Hatchets to Ice Mode and struck Croonia with frozen slashes.

When their attacks struck, Croonia was apparently destroyed by the explosion but Kira wasn't convinced. As the other Rangers were about to turn their backs, Kira called out for them to stop as it started to rain. Seconds later, Croonia reappeared and grew to massive proportions.

Billy grimaced. "Alpha, send the Biozords for Kira to form the Thundersaurus Megazord. RPM Rangers, summon your Ultrazord. RJ?"

"I'm not letting them get all of the action!" RJ replied calmly as he stepped back from them. "I'll hold her off until you can call up your Zords."

With that, RJ summoned the Wolf, Tiger and Jaguar Spirits to form the Wolf Pride Megazord and began to do battle with Croonia. Moments later, the RPM Zords appeared and the RPM Rangers formed their Ultrazord.

"I'm going to miss out on all the fun, again," Kira exclaimed as the RPM Ultrazord also began to do battle with Croonia. Billy smiled.

"I don't think you're going to miss that much, Kira," Billy replied as the Biozords crashed through the shields. "I'll be the one missing all the action. Go get her!"

Kira nodded as she leapt into her Pterazord when it flew down to fetch her. Then, she formed the Thundersaurus Megazord and, as soon as it came on-line, Billy sighed. He hated missing all the action but he knew that, as soon as his Triceratops Dinozord was complete, he'd soon have his fair share of battles against evil.

Until then, he'd just have to watch from the sidelines and wait for his chance.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late afternoon, at that very moment_

Zordon rose from his chair as Colonel Truman, who was flanked by two of his security officers, entered behind Cestria.

"It's an honour to finally meet you in person, Colonel Truman," Zordon greeted as he stood up. Alpha 5 went to his side instantly to help him to his feet as Zordon struggled slightly to stand. "Please, Alpha, I'm fine."

Alpha shook his head. "No, Zordon, you're not," he replied firmly. "I'm here, as always, to assist you when you desperately need it. Like now, for instance."

Zordon sighed and gave in. Colonel Truman smiled. "I've heard many great things about you from Tommy. He speaks very highly of you, Zordon," he said. "I brought K. some of my best technicians. I hope you don't mind."

Zordon smiled at this. "No, not at all. I see that you brought your security officers with you as well. I'd better call Bulk and Skull up here before we retire to somewhere more private. Cestria, could you fetch us some refreshments and bring them up to me in the Observatory?"

Cestria nodded and left as Zordon went over to the console and activated the communication link.

"Bulk and Skull, please report to the Command Centre," Zordon called. Then he smiled.

"And, now, to the Observatory. We can get to it through my room. We'll get a better view of the action up there."

Colonel Truman nodded to the security officers to wait behind as he and Zordon left to go to the Observatory.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late afternoon, a few minutes later_

As Bulk and Skull entered the Command Centre, Zordon was nowhere in sight. Instead, two security officers were waiting for them.

"Are you Sir Bulk and Sir Skull?" one of the security officers asked. Bulk and Skull looked at each other before they nodded in reply. "You've got to come with us."

With that, Bulk and Skull were escorted out of the Brachiozord Command Centre by the two security officers from the Corinth Defence Force.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Observatory, late afternoon, another few minutes later_

Cestria arrived with refreshments as Zordon sat down in the large white leather chair in front of the big viewing screens in the Observatory. Alpha 5 was working on a remote console terminal nearby and Colonel Truman was sitting beside him.

"... So, what do you want to know?" Zordon asked as he took a sip of the orange juice. They were both watching the Power Rangers as they took on Croonia on-screen.

"As much as you are prepared to tell me," Colonel Truman replied.

_Corinth City, late afternoon_

"Finish her!" Kira exclaimed as the Thundersaurus Megazord struggled to hold Croonia's left arm. On the other side, RJ was holding her right. Everything was going rather well so far.

The RPM Power Rangers prepared to strike but, before they could, Croonia unleashed another sound-wave attack first.

The effect of this attack was instantaneous. All of the Zords were disabled and the Ranger's morphers overloaded. They were cast out of their Zords as they powered down.

They landed on the ground in front of Billy and he instantly rushed to help them to their feet.

"Our morphers overloaded," Kira exclaimed as she looked at her burnt morpher. All the other Rangers who had been in the Zords held their morphers out and all of them were burnt as well.

"Damn it, we're done for now!" Scott growled. "What else can we do against her without our morphers? She's just too powerful for us."

All of the other Rangers had expressions which conveyed the sense of hopelessness that they were all feeling. At that moment, Croonia cackled.

"You're done for, Rangers," she exclaimed.

At that moment, hope came to the hopeless as a new sound came to their ears.

"It can't be..." RJ began as he turned pale.

It was the sound of a Rhino charging towards them.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Observatory, late afternoon, at that moment_

"What is that noise?" Colonel Truman asked. Alpha activated several commands and the Rhino Steel Zord with Dominic, in Ranger form, on its back appeared on-screen. On his shoulder rested a small white mouse. The Zord was almost at Corinth.

"Alpha, lower the shields. He must be able to sense RJ's presence and, through seeing Croonia, realise that he is in danger," Zordon commanded.

Alpha nodded. "Right away, Zordon."

"Who is that guy?" Colonel Truman asked.

"Dominic, the White Rhino Ranger," Zordon replied calmly.

_Outside Corinth City, late afternoon, a minute or so later_

"We're almost there, Fran," Dominic said just as the shield came down.

The mouse on his shoulder squeaked in reply as he held his Rhino Blade in one hand and held the Control Dagger in the other. It was at that moment that he sensed RJ's presence and noticed Croonia as the Rhino Steel Zord continued to charge towards Corinth.

"RJ's there," Dominic said simply. "And I think that he's in trouble. Never fear, though, as Dominic Hargan, the White Rhino Ranger, is here. Hold on tight, Fran, we're going for a ride."

The mouse started giggling in laughter but did cling tightly to Dominic's shoulder as he had suggested.

"Rhino Steel Zord. Charge!" Dominic commanded. The Rhino Steel Zord instantly picked up the pace.

After a few seconds, Croonia noticed him approaching as he entered Corinth. Her sound-wave attack was drowned out, and rendered useless, by the charging Rhino Steel Zord as it was much louder than she was. Dominic smiled. He had the advantage here and Croonia knew it.

At that moment, he spotted RJ and saluted to him. Then, he turned back to Croonia.

"I may be slightly late to the party but, if you mess with RJ, you mess with me," Dominic called to Croonia. "Rhino Steel Zord. Transform!"

At his command, the Rhino Steel Zord transformed into Warrior Mode and he leapt into the cockpit.

"Rhino Steel Zord. Warrior Mode!" Dominic said as his lips curved into a smile. He was enjoying this. "This is the end of the road for you, I'm afraid. Rhino Blade Slash!"

As quickly as Dominic had entered the battle, he finished it. The Rhino Steel Zord used its finishing move to destroy Croonia before she could unleash any sound-waves. Then, Dominic and Fran leapt out of it as it returned to normal.

As Dominic landed in front of the Rangers, all but one rushed to greet him. RJ turned instead and walked away because he couldn't face his guilt over leaving the other Jungle Fury Rangers behind.

"RJ! Don't walk away from me," Dominic called to him as he walked away. RJ half-turned with an expression of absolute guilt and sorrow on his face. "Aren't you happy to see me again?"

RJ didn't reply and vanished back to the Brachiozord Command Centre in a flash of purple light.

_Poor RJ. _Billy thought as he watched him go. _This must be very difficult for him._

Dominic, who stood there stunned to the very core by RJ's reaction, ignored the Rangers asking him questions and Fran's squeaks as she tried to get his attention. Instead, he wondered why RJ could have acted that way. He wondered what had happened to change him so drastically from the fun-loving carefree chef that he had known not so long ago.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Observatory, late afternoon_

"Alpha! Retrieve the disabled Zords and, when Billy returns, go with him down to the Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1 to see if you can fix them," Zordon commanded.

"Right away," Alpha said as he hurried away out of the Observatory.

_Reefside, early evening_

_At last, I've found you, Hayley._ Tommy thought as he looked through the window of the derelict Hayley's Cyberspace Café to where Hayley lay on the floor. He then spotted Zeltrax and Goldenrod, who were talking in the corner of the room, and he grimaced. They were going to have a problem.

Tommy retreated around the side of the building and morphed as he activated his communicator.

"Trent, I've found Hayley," he whispered. "We've got a problem, though. Goldenrod and Zeltrax are guarding her."

"I'll be right over, Dr O.," Trent promised.

"No," Tommy replied in a voice even lower than a whisper. "We're going to surprise Zeltrax and Goldenrod a little. You head back to the beach and warn Cassidy and Devin that I'll be pursued on the way back with Hayley. Then, get ready to battle Goldenrod and Zeltrax with me."

After a moment, Trent sighed. "All right, Dr O., I'll see you in a few minutes."

Tommy smiled as he deactivated the communication link and crept back around to the front of Hayley's Cyberspace Café. He thought about his plan for a moment before he decided that sneaking around wouldn't be his best option as he wasn't too good at that. Instead, he decided to just burst in and use the element of surprise to get Hayley from them.

As he took a deep breath, Tommy counted to three. When he reached three, he burst in and reappeared.

"So, we meet again, Zeltrax," Tommy replied as Hayley looked up from where she lay.

"Tommy!" she exclaimed. Zeltrax and Goldenrod drew their swords but Tommy had Hayley on her feet and the Brachio Staff in one hand before either of them could strike.

"You're outnumbered, Tommy Oliver," Zeltrax replied.

"So? If you were gullible enough to believe that it was me that you faced in Corinth then you're also a fool to think that being in a situation outnumbered will stop me from emerging victorious. Catch me if you can Zeltrax," Tommy smiled as he saluted and fled with Hayley out into the streets.

"Are you all right, Hayley?" Tommy asked as they ran. Although she had her hands tied behind her back, the adrenaline pumping through her veins meant that she could still keep up with him even though she was almost exhausted. She nodded.

"Yes. How did you know he had kidnapped me?" she replied as they dodged an energy burst from Zeltrax.

Tommy smiled. "Some old friends of mine from my high school years risked their lives to tell me."

"Tommy... Trent, Kira..." Hayley began.

"Don't worry. They're all right," Tommy soothed as they turned another corner and grew closer to the beach. "We're almost there."

"What..." Hayley began as they turned the final corner and arrived on the beach. Tommy skidded to a halt in the sand as Trent cut Hayley's bonds loose. "Trent..."

"Nice to see you, Hayley," Trent smiled. "Just get onto Dr O.'s Raptor Rider and let us deal with Zeltrax."

Before she could say anything else, Trent had given her a shove in the direction of the Raptor Rider as Goldenrod and Zeltrax arrived on the beach.

"You..." Zeltrax growled. "I'll destroy you."

"You'll try and be destroyed like last time," Tommy countered. "You've still got time to run, Zeltrax, Goldenrod."

"I don't think so. Father?" Goldenrod asked. Zeltrax nodded to his son.

"We'll destroy you both," Zeltrax replied.

Zeltrax and Goldenrod charged. Tommy and Trent met them mid-way and the battle began. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, they fought with sparks flying from their weapons. Eventually, Trent and Tommy worked together and managed to break free of Goldenrod and Zeltrax to unleash a finishing move.

"Brachio Staff, energy orb!" Tommy called as Trent drew arrows of energy using his Drago Sword. At the same time, both attacks hurtled towards Zeltrax and Goldenrod. Zeltrax managed to leap into the air to avoid the attack but Goldenrod wasn't so lucky as the attack caused a massive explosion which completely destroyed him.

With a gurgled scream of pure grief, Zeltrax went straight for Trent in the grips of pure rage. Tommy recognised how dangerous Zeltrax had become instantly and he also knew that neither of them wouldn't stand a chance against him. Without warning Trent, Tommy threw him out of Zeltrax's path and instead clashed swords with Zeltrax. He put up a good fight but Zeltrax, in his powerful rage, was just too good. He struck Tommy with a blow that powered him down and left him defenceless as he was thrown backwards into the sand.

"Dr O.!" Trent exclaimed as Tommy sat up with a groan.

"Tommy!" Hayley called as she was about to urge the Raptor Rider forward to retrieve him.

"No, stay back all of you!" Tommy exclaimed in warning. "Zeltrax is too dangerous now."

"How right you are, Tommy Oliver," Zeltrax said calmly. Tommy had been distracted for a moment so he hadn't noticed that Zeltrax was upon him until the last minute when it was just too late to defend against him. Zeltrax plunged the sword forward and Tommy gasped as it went right into his shoulder.

"Dr O.!" Trent exclaimed more loudly as he broke out in a run towards him. Zeltrax smiled. Tommy could see on Zeltrax's face that it was exactly what he wanted and, just in the corner of his eye, he could see why. The explosion which had destroyed Goldenrod had set off a massive tidal wave.

"No, Trent, don't! It's exactly what he wants! Get out of here before the tidal wave swallows you up as well!" Tommy cried. Behind him, Hayley and Devin had spurred the other Raptor Riders to head for higher ground as Trent stood hesitantly on the beach for a moment as he decided what to do.

"Just go, Trent!" Tommy exclaimed.

Trent instantly turned on his heels and Zeltrax, as he laughed, took his sword back from Tommy. Then, he pursued Trent as Tommy was swept up by the waves.

"Dr Oliver!" Trent called in anguish as Tommy vanished from sight under the water.

_The Sea, Underwater, early evening, at that very moment_

As Tommy sank under the water, he struggled to try to get to the surface. His left arm was useless and his right wasn't much good on its own. Eventually, he gave up as he realised that it was absolutely fruitless to try to get out of the water as he wasn't going to escape the might of the sea.

As he sank into unconsciousness, the stone around his neck burst into white light in response. His last thought, just as everything began to go black, was that he'd broken his promise to the others as he'd never be able to find them now. He had no idea at that moment that his loyal Zord had already found them a few hours before.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City and Reefside, early evening, at that very moment_

"Sensors indicate that we're almost at Corinth, guys, we had..." Jason began as the Falconzord suddenly started to tremble and squawk as it became enveloped in green light.

"What's happening?" Trini demanded.

"I've got no idea," Jason replied.

"You were the one conversing with the sentient Zord earlier. Ask it," Zack exclaimed as the stones around their necks began to glow.

Seconds later, all three of them were hit with a vision of Tommy drowning. They turned rather pale at this.

"Tommy!" was the unanimous cry as the Falconzord vanished through a dimensional doorway it had created by itself.

_Reefside, Reefside beach, early evening, at that very moment _

Trent backed away from Zeltrax as Zeltrax approached him menacingly. Zeltrax was in a grief induced rage and Trent was horror-stricken because of what Zeltrax had just done.

"You'll pay for that, Zeltrax," Trent growled as he snapped out of his horror.

Zeltrax laughed. "The great Tommy Oliver is gone, Trent Fernandez, and you know that you're no match for me alone so don't even try to fight me."

Trent grimaced as he backed away again because he knew that Zeltrax was right. He was no match for Zeltrax and he knew it.

At that moment, the Falconzord burst out of a dimensional doorway above the sea. Then, Jason leapt out of the hatch to rescue Tommy as the doorway closed behind the Falconzord. At the same time, the Falconzord also began to fire at Zeltrax in anger because he had harmed its master.

The blows injured Zeltrax but he fled in a flash of green light before the Falconzord could destroy him. The Falconzord landed on the sand as soon as Zeltrax was gone and Trini and Zack got out. They watched the sea anxiously as they awaited any sign of Jason bringing Tommy to the surface.

A tense silence occurred for a few moments before Jason surfaced with Tommy over his shoulder.

"Zack, help me get him to shore!" Jason called. Zack nodded and swam out to help Jason. Then, they carried Tommy between them to the shore and, as soon as they got him onto the sand, they began to furiously pump the water out of Tommy's lungs.

"Come on, Tommy, breathe," Jason urged as everyone else rushed over.

"He isn't breathing, Jason!" Zack exclaimed as he checked for signs of life. "CPR, quickly."

Jason nodded but, before they could perform it, Tommy gasped in air and began coughing as he cleared the last of the water from his lungs.

"It's good to see you, bro," Tommy smiled weakly at Jason as he opened his eyes. "Thanks, you've just saved my life again."

_Out at Sea, Mesogog's New Island Fortress, Somewhere near Reefside, early evening, at that very moment_

"Failure is not the answer that I was wanting to hear from you," Mesogog growled.

"But Master..." Zeltrax began. He never got to finish as Mesogog began to drain their energy from them.

"You've both failed me. Elsa, your monster couldn't hold its own against the Power Rangers. Zeltrax, your attempt at getting Tommy Oliver out of the equation was flawed and cost you your son. Tommy Oliver lives, by the way, so in the end you've gained nothing," Mesogog growled.

Zeltrax let out a howl of anguish and Mesogog responded by increasing the drain on his energy.

"You also betrayed me before you were destroyed the first time. Don't think that I have forgotten about that, Zeltrax, as I never will. If you dare to betray me again, I'll make sure that you regret it," Mesogog vowed. "If you want something done right, it seems that you've got to do it yourself."

He let them go from his energy drain. "Now get out of my sight before I destroy you," he snapped. Elsa and Mesogog scurried away as Mesogog sunk into his throne and sighed.

On the table nearby was the cursed sword which Zeltrax had struck Tommy with. It was soaked with Tommy's blood and Mesogog had plans for it.

First, though, he just had to get Tommy Oliver out of the way somehow.

_Corinth City, Scorpion Cartel Base of Operations, early evening, also at that very moment_

"I'm new in town," the stranger said simply as he leaned on the desk in front of Fresno Bob. "And the word is that, if you ever need anything dirty done, you're the man to come to."

"So what if I am? What do you want?" Fresno Bob demanded.

"I need you and your cartel to do a few things for me, and my business associate, around Corinth. In exchange for your dirty work, we'll pay you twice the standard amount," he assured.

"I'm listening," Fresno Bob replied with a hint of curiosity in his voice as the stranger nodded.

"Well, we need you to..." the stranger began.

_Corinth City, Scorpion Cartel Base of Operations, early evening, a few minutes later_

"So, Fresno Bob, do I have a deal with your Scorpion Cartel?" the stranger asked a few minutes later after he had finished outlining his plans.

Fresno Bob smiled. "We have a deal," he replied.


	15. Memories Part 1: The Lone Wolf

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Memories Part 1: The Lone Wolf

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, in the corridor outside the Jungle Fury base, early evening_

"Are you sure that he'll be in here?" Dominic asked. Billy nodded.

"Oh yes, he'll be in the Jungle Fury base, Dominic," Billy assured. On Dominic's shoulder, the mouse started squeaking again.

"No, it's all right Fran. I'll get him to open the door," Dominic assured. "He can't run from whatever he's feeling guilty about forever. Especially when I intend to find out the truth. I'm like a Rhino; stubborn, powerful and proud, and RJ knows that I'm going to keep pushing him for the truth until I get it which is why he fled from me instantly."

"Thanks for everything, Billy," Dominic said finally as they reached the door into the Jungle Fury base. It was locked.

Billy nodded. "It's the least I can do. Good luck with getting the truth out of RJ, Dominic."

"I'll force it out of him if I have to," he replied with a smile as the Rhino Blade appeared in his hand.

Billy winced. "Try not to cause too much damage, Dominic. We've got a lot of things which need to be repaired and I don't want this door to be one of them."

Dominic nodded. "If I break it, I'll repair it."

Billy smiled and then left. Dominic waited a moment before he hammered the door with his fist.

"It's me, RJ. Open up!" Dominic demanded. "I'm not going to go away so you might want to open up and just get this over with."

"Just leave me alone, Dom," was RJ's muffled reply.

"Open up, RJ! If I've got to, I'll use the Rhino Blade to cut a nice hole in the door to get in. It's your choice," Dominic said firmly.

"Just go away, Dom," RJ replied more firmly.

Dominic shook his head. "Final chance, RJ. Open up or I'll cut a hole in the door!" There was a moment of silence before Dominic decided that he wasn't going to get anywhere with his negotiations with RJ. Grimly, he took up the Rhino Blade and, after another few moments, easily cut a massive hole in the door. Then he kicked it in.

RJ was sitting on his bed and was rather quiet as Dominic entered.

"I asked you to leave me alone, Dom," RJ said rather quietly.

"I'm not going anywhere, RJ," Dominic replied as he paused for a moment to sit beside him.

"Why did you run from me? What are you so guilty about? Why have you changed so much?" he finally demanded.

RJ didn't reply and looked away from him.

"Talk to me, RJ! Don't just shut me out! I've worked tirelessly over the past two years to get to Corinth to find you and the others. You owe me an explanation at least," Dominic exclaimed in frustration.

"Do you really want to know why I tried to avoid you? I left Casey, Theo and Lily to a fate worse than death, that's why," RJ growled angrily in reply. "They could have been in Corinth with me, right now, if I hadn't abandoned them when they needed me most. I fled from you, Dominic, because when I saw you I was reminded completely of the events of that fateful day two years ago and I can't face it."

Stunned silence fell over the Jungle Fury base as Dominic took a moment to absorb what he had just been told.

"Tell me what happened. Tell me everything, RJ," Dominic demanded as Fran began squeaking loudly.

RJ stood up for a moment. "It was just like any normal day, Dominic. I can remember every detail about it, right down to the number of customers in my restaurant that day, as the day of the Venjix invasion isn't easily forgotten about. I try to forget all the time but, no matter what I do, it always comes back to haunt me. You see..."

_**Ocean Bluff, Pai Zhua Academy, the fateful day of the Venjix invasion two years ago, late morning **_

"_Ok, that concludes our lesson today, Cubs," Casey declared as he bowed respectfully to them. They bowed back and then left. Jarrod and Camille were the only Cubs who hadn't been present during this lesson as they had gone to a nearby town for a well earned date at Casey's insistence._

_Casey took a look around the familiar Pai Zhua Academy and sighed. For Casey, it was just another average day but what he didn't realise was that things would soon change forever._

_**Ocean Bluff, Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour, the fateful day of the Venjix invasion two years ago, late morning, at that very moment**_

_RJ was in the kitchen cooking up his biggest and best pizza. Upstairs in the loft, Theo and Lily were sitting at his finest table on a date together and he had volunteered to cook for them. He smiled. _

"_I'll make sure that they'll never forget this day," he promised himself aloud as he took out the pizza from the oven. Little did he realise, his statement would soon come true._

_**Ocean Bluff, Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour, RJ's loft, the fateful day of the Venjix invasion two years ago, late morning, at that very moment**_

"_You know, you've got such beautiful eyes, Lily," Theo smiled. She blushed._

"_Theo!" she exclaimed. He shrugged._

"_It's true, Lily," he replied. "And you've got such soft hair..."_

_He leaned over the table to kiss her but, before he could, the ground shook._

_**Ocean Bluff, just outside the Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour, the fateful day of the Venjix invasion two years ago, late morning, at that very moment**_

_Casey struggled to stay on his feet because of the power of the earthquake. He clung onto the side of the building for dear life as he waited until the shaking decreased slightly. Something about the earthquake didn't seem quite right to him so, as soon as the shaking lessened, he rushed into the restaurant and upstairs into the loft._

_RJ, Theo and Lily were already there. On the TV, the earthquake was featured in a Breaking News report._

"_We interrupt this program to alert you to Breaking News. An earthquake measuring at around 6.1 on the Richter scale has struck Ocean Bluff. Reports are coming in that many of the buildings in the city have collapsed but, fortunately, we're getting confirmations that those buildings which have collapsed were empty at the time of the earthquake. At the mall, many of the shops have caught fire and the place is being evacuated as we speak. In... Wait, we've got further reports that metallic monsters have shown up around the city. We take you live to Rebecca, our roving reporter, for the latest," The Newsreader was saying as Casey entered._

"_I don't know if you can hear me, Ross, but we're in the centre of town where the metallic monsters showed up as soon as the earthquake began. They've so far been firing at anything that moves so we're sensibly keeping our distance from them..." Rebecca was saying just as the TV signal cut out._

_Everyone looked to RJ with grim expressions on their face. _

"_It's time, isn't it?" Casey asked._

_RJ nodded. "Wait here."_

_RJ then proceeded up to his safe where, from within a wooden box, he retrieved his Wolf Morpher and their Solar Morphers. He then handed them out._

"_Our priority is to get rid of those metallic monsters as quickly as possible. There are going to be many people who need help because of this earthquake and those metallic monsters are only going to get in the way of helping them," RJ said. Casey nodded in agreement._

"_Ready?" Casey asked as he flicked open his glasses and put them on. Theo and Lily did the same as RJ activated his morpher. Everyone nodded._

"_Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!" Casey called. Everyone else followed his lead as they went through the stances until, finally, they morphed._

_Remembering Flit, RJ's little fly friend who had been turned back into a human again, RJ went downstairs to ask him something. However, he found that Flit and all of the customers, all 26 of them to be exact, had fled already. RJ sighed grimly as everybody else came downstairs after him._

"_Everyone's already gone. I was going to ask Flit to watch the monitors but we won't need them, I'm sure," he said as he turned to them. "We had better go get rid of those metallic monsters."_

_With one last look behind him as they left, RJ and the other Jungle Fury Rangers left the Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour and headed off into the city to fight the Grinders._

_**Ocean Bluff, in the centre of town, the fateful day of the Venjix invasion two years ago, late morning**_

"_Wow, there's so many of them!" Lily exclaimed as they arrived in the centre of town. "I don't know if we can fight that __many of them."_

"_We've got to," Casey replied. "Split up and take out as many of these metallic monsters as you can!"_

_They split up. Each of them confronted a group of the metallic monsters and each of them destroyed the entire group that they had went after. However, as soon as they destroyed one group, each of them were soon confronted by two more groups of the metallic monsters and were overwhelmed._

_The blows that sent them all into the nearest wall were rather powerful and caused each of them to power down. _

"_Get up, we've got to fight them!" Casey exclaimed._

"_No, there's just too many of them for us, Casey. We've got to get out of here, quickly!" RJ replied._

_Theo and Lily were silent for a moment before they reluctantly agreed with RJ as the metallic monsters closed in._

"_RJ's right, Casey. We've got no choice but to flee," Theo finally said._

"_There's just too many of them," Lily added._

"_All right. How are we going to get of here, though?" Casey asked._

_RJ smiled. "Leave it me."_

_Very calmly, RJ quickly went through all of the stances of the Wolf as he called, "Call to the spirit within, unleash the Wolf!"_

_Seconds later, the Wolf Spirit leapt out from between his hands and created a hole in the ranks of the metallic monsters. Then, the Jungle Fury Rangers didn't waste any time as they fled from Ocean Bluff and the metallic monsters._

_**Ocean Bluff, Pai Zhua Academy, the fateful day of the Venjix invasion two years ago, late morning**_

"_We'll be safe here, for a while," RJ said calmly as he took a deep breath._

"_No, you will never be safe here," Master Mao said as he appeared to them. "You must leave Ocean Bluff as soon as possible."_

"_Master Mao, we can't!" Lily exclaimed. "What about all the people? Our friends?"_

"_They are doomed already. Do not condemn yourselves to their fate as well," Mao replied. "Those metallic monsters are known as Grinders and they're currently terrorising every city in the world right now. Their master is an AI computer program called Venjix which is trying to enslave humanity and, if you don't get out of here, you will be next."_

"_But..." Theo began. "My twin brother, Luen..."_

"_It is too late for them but it isn't too late for you," Mao replied sadly. "You must flee to a city called Corinth, which is many miles down the coast from here, where you will be safe. You must go now."_

_Casey grimaced before he nodded. "It'll be the hardest thing we've ever done, Master, but we'll do it."_

_Master Mao nodded. "Good. Now, go forth from here and do not come back. Get to Corinth where it will be safe for you."_

_The other Jungle Fury Rangers left but Mao called out to RJ._

"_Wait, RJ," Master Mao commanded. RJ turned to him. "I am so, so sorry... Only tragedy awaits you at Corinth," he said quietly in a voice that only RJ could hear._

_RJ turned instantly pale in reply. "What do you mean? Mao?" he instantly demanded. _

_Mao, however, vanished instantly as the other Jungle Fury Rangers turned to RJ._

"_RJ? What did he say?" Casey asked._

"_It was nothing," he lied. "Come on, we haven't got a lot of time left. We've got to get out of here."_

_With that, the Jungle Fury Rangers left Pai Zhua Academy behind them as they fled from the Venjix invasion._

_**Ocean Bluff, at the edge of town, the fateful day of the Venjix invasion two years ago, late morning, minutes later**_

"_There, it's perfect!" Theo said as he pointed to an abandoned car at the edge of town. The keys were still in the ignition and it was big enough for them all to fit into it. The only problem for RJ and Casey, though, was that it was pink._

"_We can't take that. It's pink!" RJ exclaimed. _

"_Have you got any better ideas?" Lily replied. RJ fell silent and gave in as he knew that they didn't have time to argue over their getaway car. All that really mattered was that they got out of town before the Grinders stopped them._

"_Hurry, the Grinders are coming!" Casey exclaimed as he pointed to the patrol of Grinders who were rapidly approaching them. __They didn't waste time in getting into the car after that so Casey just managed to start the engine and drive off before the Grinders started firing upon them. _

_As they drove away from Ocean Bluff, all of them looked back to see what destruction the Grinders had caused to Ocean Bluff. It was only at that moment that they realised the extent of the devastation. In the few short minutes that they had been at the Pai Zhua Academy, most of the recognisable landmarks of Ocean Bluff had been destroyed. _

_On all of their minds were Dominic and their teachers; Masters Fin, Swoop and Phant. They were all wondering where they were at this moment in time and whether they would ever see them again or not but all of them knew that it was too late to do anything to help them. Like everyone else they knew or loved, they were all doomed to an inescapable harsh fate and there was nothing that the Jungle Fury Rangers could do for them._

_They had to focus on getting to Corinth City. Perhaps one day, when the war was over, they would go in search of those they had lost but, until then, they had to stay alive first._

_**Somewhere On The Road To Corinth, the fateful day of the Venjix invasion two years ago, early afternoon, some time later**_

_As they continued to follow the road, the land bore more and more signs of the Venjix invasion. There were burnt out cars at the sides of the road, patches of burnt land everywhere, craters where explosions had occurred and various people's possessions scattered over the road. It was a sorrowful sight but Casey didn't stop driving onwards towards Corinth City._

_Theo and Lily were sitting in the back and were looking sorrowfully into each other's eyes. Neither of them said anything and RJ found it slightly uncomfortable being anywhere near them when they were like that. _

_Casey was obviously uncomfortable as well as, in an attempt to distract himself from them, he decided that he would talk to RJ._

"_What did Master Mao say to you, RJ?" Casey asked as he drove along the road._

"_It was nothing important, Casey," RJ replied abruptly. "Forget about it."_

_It was, however, lingering in RJ's mind. He worried about what it had meant. He worried about why Mao hadn't said it in the presence of the others. And, he worried what that fact meant as well._

_It was at the forefront of his mind until, minutes later, Casey slammed on the brakes. The bridge ahead had been destroyed by the Grinders which meant that they had to go on foot from there onwards. As they got out of the car, the heat began to have an effect on them._

_In the car, the air-conditioning had protected them from the dehydrating effects of the harsh sun but, now, they had no protection and, because they didn't have any supplies with them, they were beginning to feel rather dehydrated._

"_Before we go any further, we're best to get a drink from the river. It's going to be a long walk from here," RJ suggested. The others nodded and they drank as much as they could from the river. Then, with great difficulty, they managed to swim to the other side, climb up the bank to the road and stop._

"_Our wet clothes should protect us from the heat for a while so we had better try to make good use of the protection. When it runs out, things are only going to get more difficult on our journey to Corinth," Casey said._

"_We're halfway there, anyway," Lily replied as she pointed to the road sign which said that Corinth was only 20 miles away now. Lily knew that it was forty miles to Corinth from Ocean Bluff because she had visited Corinth once before but twenty miles on foot was still a significant distance for them to walk. Especially under the blistering sun._

"_We'll be able to do it," Theo smiled. "We're Pai Zhua, the hardiest of warriors, and we're not going to let the odds against us stop us."_

_RJ smiled. "That's exactly the attitude that I wanted to hear from you. I've got faith in all of you. We'll make it to Corinth. I know it."_

_With that, RJ started walking and the other Jungle Fury Rangers soon followed behind him. It was going to be a long difficult journey and they knew fine well that there was a chance that they wouldn't make it. However, they had been strengthened by Theo's words enough that they were all going to make a good attempt to get to Corinth at the very least as they would disgrace the name of Pai Zhua if they didn't._

_**Somewhere On The Road To Corinth, the fateful day of the Venjix invasion two years ago, mid-afternoon, a while later**_

"_It's the end of the road," RJ said grimly. "The Grinders have already caused so much destruction in this area that they've created a desert."_

_As far as the eye could see, the area ahead was virtually all sand in all directions. They had now reached the end of the road and they had to decide now what they were going to do._

"_We can't stop now. We're surely almost there!" Casey exclaimed just as RJ heard a metallic ringing noise behind him. He turned to find that Grinders were fast approaching them all._

"_And we're not going to stop! There are Grinders behind us! Run!" RJ replied._

_The Jungle Fury Rangers broke into a run seconds later as the Grinders opened fire. After a few minutes, the domed city of Corinth appeared on the horizon and hope filled all of their hearts. _

_With that hope, though, came Grinders on motorcycles. They appeared over the dunes nearby and started firing at them. They dodged the first blast and picked up the pace as they ran._

"_Guys, we're almost there but those Grinders are closing in on us," Casey exclaimed as they dodged a blast from another Grinder on a motorcycle. "We've got to keep moving."_

_They kept running and running for what seemed forever even though Corinth City was just on the horizon. Everything was going well until they had to descend down one side of a massive dune. Then, everything went horribly wrong as a shot from a Grinder hit Lily in the back and she fell forward. Theo cried out to her and Casey had turned to her in shock._

"_Get up, we can't stop," RJ commanded. Lily shook her head as she tried. She fell back onto the sand._

"_I can't. My ankle! It's twisted! Go on without me!" she exclaimed._

"_I won't leave you," Theo vowed as the Grinders grew closer to them._

"_Theo, you carry Lily, I'll hold off the Grinders," Casey decided. Before anyone could stop him, Casey went through the stances and morphed into the Red Jungle Fury Ranger. He then set off to hold off the Grinders. Theo and Lily, however, knew that his attempt to buy them time was hopeless as the Grinders grew ever closer._

"_Go on, RJ. Go," they urged. "We'll be right behind you."_

_RJ knew fine well that they were lying to them but, of course, he had left them at that moment. It had hurt him so much to go but, as much as he wanted to stay, the Wolf spirit inside him had forced him to go on. _

_He didn't look back as he ran onwards towards Corinth. The Grinders didn't pursue him either but that was probably because Casey was putting up such a good fight behind him. _

_The sense of relief that came with reaching Corinth as RJ managed to get under the gate was overwhelming. He had made it to safety._

_He turned to look but they hadn't followed behind him like they had promised they would._

Come on... You can make it, guys. _He thought as he watched the gate helplessly for any sign of them. However, he knew in his heart that they had been captured although he refused to admit it to himself._

_Reality, however, came crashing down on RJ when the Corinth City Defence Force gave the command to lower the gate. He was now a lone wolf without any of the ones he cared about. _

Mao was right. Only tragedy awaited me here_. RJ thought as he suddenly felt rather dizzy. He couldn't cope with the thought that he had left them behind or the fact that it was his fault that they weren't here with him now. By leaving them behind, he'd also condemned them to a fate worse than death and RJ couldn't cope with that thought either._

_After a few seconds, RJ instantly collapsed onto the ground as his brain switched off as it couldn't cope with the emotional overload._

_**Corinth City, Corinth City Hospital, the fateful day of the Venjix invasion two years ago, late afternoon, some time later**_

_As RJ stirred, the nurses anxiously went to his bedside. He instantly became aware of a painful sensation in his forehead as he opened his eyes._

"_Sir, are you all right?" one of the asked._

"_I'm fine," RJ lied. That statement couldn't be further from the truth. RJ wasn't fine and he knew it. He was overcome by his guilt but he didn't mention it as he knew that he couldn't stay in the hospital for too long in case they noticed his Wolf Morpher and started asking awkward questions. _

"_Please, come with us, then. The Corinth Defence Force wanted to speak to you about allocating you a place to stay as soon as you woke up," one of the nurses said._

_RJ nodded. As he got out of the bed, he glanced at his Wolf Morpher. It was still there and they obviously hadn't noticed it otherwise they would have said something about it by now. His one thought as he followed him down the corridors was that he didn't know if he'd be able to survive here in Corinth without his friends._

_What he did vow was that he would try his very best to survive for them as he vowed that when this was all over he would find them and he needed to live long enough until the day of Venjix's destruction came so that he could._

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, the Jungle Fury base, mid-evening, current time_

"...And that's what happened, Dominic," RJ said as he had finally finished his tale.

Dominic and Fran were silent for a moment as they considered his words. Then, Dominic sighed.

"You shouldn't blame yourself because your Wolf spirit forced you to go on. It wasn't your choice to abandon them, RJ, and there was nothing that you could have done to save them," Dominic said finally.

"I could have stayed with them and fought by their side instead of leaving them. Maybe then they would be here right now with us," RJ hit back angrily.

"You know that fate played a part in your survival, RJ," Dominic said coolly. "You know that's the reason why you reached to Corinth and they didn't. You've got a big part to play in everything that's to come and, if you're wondering how I know this, Billy told me all about it."

"But..." RJ began.

"RJ, on top of that, Theo and Lily wanted you to survive as well as they wouldn't have told you to flee otherwise. You're dishonouring their wish by feeling guilty about leaving them because you're letting it distract you from doing the right thing. You've got to get over yourself, stop feeling guilty and move on as feeling this way won't bring them back."

RJ fell silent and sighed. "You're right, Dom."

"I know that I am," Dominic smiled. "Rhinos usually are."

RJ smiled at this. "Promise me something, Dom," he said finally after a few moments of silence.

"Anything," Dominic replied.

"That we'll find the other Jungle Fury Rangers, and the Pai Zhua Masters, together. No matter what, we won't let anything get in our way whilst we search for them," RJ said as he held out his hand.

"I promise," Dominic said as he grasped it tightly. "No matter what, we'll find them wherever they are right now."

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, mid-evening, at that very moment_

Casey stood there on the beach, looking out at the stars, as he thought about all of his friends. He knew that he had been lucky to escape from the Grinders that day two years ago but he wondered if his friends had shared his luck. Then, he sighed again.

Over the course of two years he had made new friends here but they would never hold the same place in his heart as the other Jungle Fury Rangers. For Casey, being around his new friends just wasn't the same as being around his old ones. He paused for another moment as he heard the approaching footsteps. Then, he turned.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"You've got to come quickly, Casey," his friend replied. "My father has news."

Casey sighed. "I'll be along in a minute. I just need another few moments up here."

"It's important, Casey. He'll be angry if you don't turn up again," his friend warned.

"All right, I'm coming," Casey exclaimed as he gave in. He sighed.

_Sometimes, I can never get a moment of peace here. It's at times like this that I wish that I hadn't been rescued from the Grinders. _He thought as he followed his friend back inside.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, mid-evening, also at that very moment_

As Lily fell again, Theo helped her to her feet. The injury to her back hadn't healed properly so, from time to time, she often needed his assistance. For the past two years, he had been masking the fact that she was severely injured from the Grinders so that nothing would happen to her like all the others who had been either disabled or lame. So far, it had worked perfectly as the Grinders hadn't suspected a thing.

They were part of a large work gang in a canyon in the desert. Their task was to endlessly mine iron from the canyon and, on good days, the most rest they got was a few hours sleep. They were well fed and watered, unlike most other work gangs, as their task was so vital to Venjix's forces. However, the work was so strenuous that it certainly didn't feel that way.

"Are you all right?" Theo asked.

Lily smiled weakly. "I'm just tired, Theo. I'll be all right after a few hours rest."

Theo nodded. "We've only got to keep working for another hour before they'll give us the rest that we deserve. Can you hold on for that long?"

Lily nodded. "Yes, I think that I'll be able to barely hang on until then."

They continued their work at that moment and Theo sighed. He knew that Lily was deteriorating as each day passed so he hoped with all his heart that someone would rescue them both before she was too far gone to be saved.


	16. Memories Part 2: The Masters' Trials

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Memories Part 2: The Masters' Trials

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Jungle Fury base, mid-evening_

"You know, you've missed some good action, Dominic," RJ smiled. "There was that near miss when the Falconzord was so badly damaged that Tommy lost control of it. It would have crashed into a building if Anton Mercer hadn't caught it using the Tigerzord. Then, there was Thorntrap before that..."

Dominic chuckled. "I'm sure that there'll be a great deal of action soon enough to more than make up for everything that I've missed," he said. "You know, I've missed you, RJ."

The mouse on his shoulder leapt onto RJ's lap and started to squeak frantically.

"It appears that Fran missed you as well," Dominic noted.

"Fran? What happened to her?" RJ exclaimed as he looked down, startled, at the mouse in his lap.

Dominic sighed. "It's a rather long story, RJ. Perhaps it would be best if I started at the beginning," Dominic replied with a sigh. "You see..."

_**France, French Countryside, the fateful day of the Venjix invasion two years ago, late morning**_

"_I can't go on much longer," Fran warned as she struggled to breathe as they ran on through the countryside. Dominic, in the form of the White Rhino Ranger, was holding her hand with one hand as he ran along at her side. The other held the Rhino Blade in laser cannon mode._

_Dominic looked over his shoulder. Those Grinders were still pursuing them._

Do they ever run out of steam? _Dominic wondered as he fired at them. His gaze returned to the front as Fran just managed to pull him out of the way of a massive hole. _

"_Thanks, Fran," Dominic smiled as he looked back again. There didn't seem to be any end to the Grinders in pursuit of them. Even after destroying many of them with his Rhino Blade, there still seemed to be as many of them as had ambushed them originally._

"_We're not going to lose them, Dominic," Fran warned._

"_I wouldn't..." Dominic began as there was a blinding flash of white light just up ahead._

_When the flash of light had subsided, Fran and Dominic were gone._

_**Spirit Jungle, No Time**_

_As Dominic looked around, he knew instantly where they were. Fran was at his side and she seemed rather confused about what had just happened. She blinked._

"_Where are we? What happened?" she asked._

_Dominic sighed. "We're in the Spirit Jungle, at the Rhino Nexus, and they brought us here," he replied as he pointed to the three Pai Zhua Masters awaiting them in front of the single branch in the centre of the Rhino Nexus. There weren't any visible drawings upon the branch but there was the symbol of Pai Zhua, the lightning bolt, at its tip._

_Master Guin, Master Rilla and Master Lope shook their heads._

"_It is not nice to point, Dominic," Guin warned. "Welcome back to the Spirit Jungle."_

_Dominic shook his head as he lowered his hand. "I'm not like the others, Guin. Rhinos are known to be impatient so just get to the point. Why did you bring us here?"_

"_To Listen," Master Guin replied simply._

"_To Learn," Master Rilla added._

"_To Survive," Master Lope added as well._

_At that moment, Master Mao appeared. "To Know," he finished._

"_You mean to put me through trials, don't you?" Dominic said instantly as he realised what they wanted of him. "I refuse to participate."_

_At that moment, Mao froze Fran to the spot with a snap of his fingers. Then, he sighed._

"_You have got no other choice Dominic. Time has no meaning here right now so we could hold you here forever, with your friend Fran frozen to the spot, until you accept," he reminded Dominic._

_Dominic turned to look at Fran for a moment before he sighed. Mao was right. He didn't have a choice. They had complete control over him in this situation and they knew it. _

_Seeing no other choice, Dominic nodded. "Very well, since you put it that way, I've got no other choice but to accept," he said finally._

_Master Guin smiled. "You will face my challenge first, Dominic, and it is, by far, the easiest of the four. I challenge you to listen to your heart, instead of your gut instinct for once, whilst you face me. If you do not defeat me, Fran will be lost in this place forever."_

_The other Masters got out of the way and Dominic grimaced. The stakes were high so Dominic couldn't afford to lose this battle to Guin. However, he knew that beating her wasn't going to be easy at all as Guin was a dangerous opponent. _

Listen to my heart? That isn't going to be easy considering that I'm too much like a Rhino but I've got to try. _Dominic thought as he powered down and returned his Rhino Blade to his morpher. Guin raised her left eyebrow at him in curiosity._

"_I'll not fight you as anything more than I am," Dominic replied simply. _

"_I will not be following the same rules," Guin warned as she took on the stronger anthropomorphic form of her Penguin spirit. "Are you sure that you want to do it without your Ranger form?"_

_Dominic nodded as he took a deep breath. "Yes."_

_At that moment, Guin charged at him. Dominic quickly got into a rhythm as he fought her off but, as much as he tried to listen to his heart, he couldn't hear anything at all. Hence, Guin was beating him back and he knew it. _

_As he was pushed back towards the edge of the Nexus, Dominic knew that he'd have to hear something from his heart soon before he was pushed over the edge. At the last second, just as she was about to throw him off the Nexus, he managed it._

_Reacting quickly, Dominic managed to leap up over her using her arms as footholds. Then, before she could turn around to react, he kicked her off the Nexus._

_Fortunately, she just floated over the edge with a smile on her face as she returned to normal._

"_Congratulations, you have passed the first trial, Dominic. You listened to your heart, not your gut instincts, to defeat me," she said as she walked back onto the Rhino Nexus. _

"_Now, you will face my challenge. I challenge you to learn to overcome what you fear the most, Dominic, by defeating me in battle. If you do not defeat me, Fran will be lost in this place forever," Master Rilla chuckled as he stepped into the centre of the Nexus. _

_Dominic gulped. His deepest darkest fear was about to confront him and, despite how terrified it was about to make him, he had to find the strength to overcome it. He closed his eyes._

"_Are you ready?" Rilla asked. Dominic nodded in reply. "Then open your eyes, Dominic, and face __your worst nightmare."_

_Dominic took a deep breath as he opened his eyes. There, before him, was Rilla but he had disguised himself as Dominic's biggest fear. A clown. _

_Dominic took another slow deep breath as Rilla advanced. Of course, Dominic was petrified but he knew that he had to face his fear so that Fran wasn't trapped here forever._

_There was one consolation for Dominic, though. Rilla didn't take on that creepy laugh, as some some clowns had, which terrified Dominic but kept his own voice instead._

"_Face me, Dominic," Rilla commanded. "Do not let fear overpower you."_

_Rilla attacked at that moment and Dominic struggled slightly to defend himself as he was knocked off his feet. _

"_Come on, Dominic," Rilla said in exasperation. "You can do much better than this."_

_Dominic grimaced as Rilla struck again. He barely managed to dodge that attack and, at that moment, he knew that Fran would never forgive him if he let her down by losing to Rilla._

_A new feeling of determination swept over him at that moment. He had to overcome his fear. For Fran._

_At that moment, Dominic was able to look at clowns in a different light. It was a strange experience as he no longer felt that overpowering sense of fear which had paralysed him moments before._

_As Rilla struck again, Dominic began fighting back as he dodged. Within minutes, they were locked in an extensive battle which Dominic finally won by casting Rilla out of the Nexus._

_Rilla instantly returned to normal as he smiled. "Congratulations, you have passed the second trial, Dominic. You overcame your fear to defeat me."_

_Rilla returned to the other Pai Zhua Masters as Master Lope stepped forward._

"_It is my turn, Dominic," Master Lope said simply. "I challenge you to survive against the odds by facing me without the aid of your sight. If you do not defeat me, Fran will be lost in this place forever."_

_Dominic nodded. Seconds later, his vision went black._

_Mao, Rilla and Guin began to deliberately talk loudly to obstruct his hearing just as Lope advanced. Hence, Dominic was unprepared when Lope first struck him in the back. When Dominic attempted to strike back, his punch was clumsy and completely missed Lope. Lope struck him again and sent him flying backwards towards the edge of the Nexus. Dominic managed to halt before he fell off but it wasn't until he attempted to step back that he realised that he was right at the edge of the Nexus. If Lope struck again, Dominic would be thrown off and Fran would be trapped forever. _

_Purely by chance, Dominic heard Lope as he began to charge towards him. He also knew in his heart that he had to react quickly to this information otherwise Lope would strike first. Without thinking, Dominic leapt up over Lope just before he struck. This caused Lope to charge over the edge of the Nexus as he couldn't stop himself in time._

_As Dominic landed, his vision returned and he could see that Lope was smiling at him._

"_Congratulations, you have passed the third trial, Dominic. You managed to survive against the odds to defeat me," Lope said._

"_How many more trials must I face?" Dominic demanded. "Will there be no end to this?"_

"_You have only got to face me now, Dominic," Mao assured. "However, I will be the hardest to defeat."_

_Mao paused for a moment to allow Lope to return to where the Masters were standing before he made his way into the centre of the Nexus._

"_I challenge you, Dominic, to prove to me that you know what must be done now. If you do not defeat me, Fran will be lost in this place forever," Mao warned as he took on his anthropomorphic form of his Caracal spirit._

_Dominic nodded as he got into his battle stance. "I'm ready."_

_Nothing else was said as Mao attacked. Using all he had learned during the first three battles, Dominic fought back well. The other Masters were watching them both intently as they awaited the outcome of the battle. _

_Eventually, Dominic managed to end the battle. Just before Mao pounced on him, Dominic knew what was going to happen and he knew what he had to do to knock Mao out of the Nexus. As Mao pounced, Dominic bent over backwards so that Mao leapt over him and caught Mao's foot. Then, Dominic tossed him out of the Nexus._

_As Mao returned to normal with a massive smile on his face, Dominic felt a strange sensation in his left arm. When he looked, he found that the lightning bolt mark of a Pai Zhua Master had appeared on it._

"_Congratulations, you have passed the last trial and you have proved that you are a Pai Zhua Master because you did not have to think about what you were doing. You knew what had to be done to defeat me and when it had to be done for," Mao said as he returned to the Nexus. The other Masters congratulated Dominic before they vanished just as Mao released Fran._

"_What happened..." Fran began._

"_I'll tell you in a minute, Fran. I promise," Dominic assured as he looked at Mao. "What now?"_

"_Now, Dominic, you must leave this place. You have been here for just about two years now and the world has changed greatly since the day of the Venjix invasion. It is a most dangerous place now so I would warn you to be especially careful as you search for your friends. I warn you also that they are likely to be Venjix's prisoners in labour camps at this moment in time, Dominic." Mao replied. "Perhaps, though, this might be of use to you."_

_At that moment, the Rhino Steel Zord suddenly appeared at Mao's side. Dominic smiled._

"_Thank you, Master Mao," he said as he bowed his head. "But how will I find them?"_

"_Start at Corinth City, Dominic. You will know how to get there," Mao replied. "Good luck."_

_There was another brilliant flash of white light which blinded both Dominic and Fran. When it finally subsided, Mao was alone in the Spirit Jungle._

_**Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, earlier in the current day, very early in the morning**_

_As they reappeared, Fran looked around in confusion. _

"_Where are we now?" she asked. Dominic smiled._

"_I'm going to assume that we're on a beach near to Corinth City and that we're back in the USA," Dominic replied as he looked around._

_Mao had been right. From what Dominic could see, the Earth had changed significantly from the Earth that he had known two years ago. It looked so dead and nothing at all like the vivid, full of life, place which he could remember._

"_But..." Fran began as Dominic spotted a cave nearby._

"_I'll explain it all to you when we get to that cave," he promised as he pulled out the Control Dagger from his backpack. "Rhino Steel Zord, go over to that cave and remain on watch whilst we get some rest."_

_The Rhino Steel Zord charged over there. Dominic took Fran's hand and soon followed close behind it._

_Inside the cave, Dominic gathered together some scraps of deadwood for firewood. Then, he set up a fire and, as Fran sat down close to it, Dominic sat down beside her. She snuggled close to him to keep warm._

"_Now will you tell me what happened?" Fran asked._

_Dominic smiled as he was about to tell her everything. "Well..."_

_However, before he could tell her, she had somehow fallen asleep. He couldn't help but chuckle at this before he too fell asleep as well._

_**Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, earlier in the current day, very, very early in the morning**_

_Lying in the cave by the shore, quite far from Corinth City, Dominic sighed and opened his eyes as Fran snuggled closer to him. He had struggled through trial after trial to get back to America and they were now only miles away from Corinth City. He wondered if he would find RJ and the others there but he didn't get his hopes up as he knew that, like so many people in the world, they were likely to be in a labour camp somewhere in the country now. Dominic and Fran had only escaped that fate because of the intervention of the Spirit Masters._

_He sighed as he closed his eyes again. He needed to get some rest as it was going to be a long day tomorrow. They weren't going to stop to rest until they reached Corinth because it was so close to where they were now._

Wherever you are, my friends, I hope that you're alive. _Dominic thought before he drifted back off to sleep. _Especially you, RJ, as I don't want to find out that I'll never get to hear some of your wisdom ever again.

_**Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, earlier in the current day, early in the morning**_

_Dominic yawned as he woke at dawn. Then, he hesitantly looked around to check that nothing had happened._

_Fran was still asleep at his side and the fire had dwindled during the night. Outside, the Rhino Steel Zord was still guarding them both and all seemed to be quiet. Slowly, he got up without waking Fran before he left to collect firewood. _

_When he returned, Fran was still asleep. After he had put the wood on the fire, he went to their backpacks to check if the food inside them was still edible. Unsurprisingly, he found that the food was completely rotten so, to save Fran the trouble, Dominic disposed of it far away from the cave. Then, he went out to the sea and caught two decent sized fish for their breakfast before he finally set to work cooking them. _

_It was the smell that woke Fran a few minutes later. She groaned softly and opened her eyes as Dominic smiled at her._

"_Good morning," he smiled._

"_Good morning," Fran replied as she yawned. "I never got to hear that story which you promised to tell me, Dominic."_

_He shrugged in reply. "You fell asleep before I even started, Fran."_

"_Did I?" Fran said as she blushed. "Oops, sorry."_

"_No, it's all right. Why don't I tell you everything over breakfast?" Dominic suggested as Fran nodded. Seconds later, Dominic passed her one of the fishes as he took up the other and began to __eat. Then, after pausing for a moment to allow Fran to eat something, he began his tale. "As far as I know this is what happened. You see..."_

_**Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, earlier in the current day, mid-morning**_

_He had just finished his tale now and Fran was smiling._

"_So you're a Pai Zhua Master now?" Fran asked. Dominic nodded as he revealed the thunderbolt on his arm._

"_Yes," Dominic replied. "Just like the others, I'm now a Master. It feels a little strange as I've got a sense of what must be done now which never used to be there before. I know that we've got to get to Corinth and I think that I know the __way as __well."_

_He paused for a moment as he searched within himself. "No, I know the way to Corinth," he corrected as he came across a faint pull in the depths of his heart towards what he could only assume was Corinth. "I can feel which way I've got to go. It's somewhere south of here."_

_Fran nodded as she stood up. "Well, it would be best not to waste any time since we don't have any supplies. Let's leave right now for Corinth, Dominic."_

_Dominic nodded as he stood as well. Then, he kicked sand over the fire to extinguish it. Next, he held out his hand to Fran and smiled as she took it before he finally led her outside to the Rhino Steel Zord._

"_We'll get there quicker if we ride the Rhino Steel Zord, Fran," he said as he hauled her up onto the Rhino Steel Zord's back. Then, he fetched their backpacks and formed a comfortable seating area for them both. Once they were both ready to go, Dominic picked up the Control Dagger and smiled._

"_Rhino Steel Zord. Charge!" he commanded._

_The Rhino Steel Zord gave a thunderous battle cry before it charged off into the desert towards Corinth._

_**Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, earlier in the current day, early afternoon**_

_The Rhino Steel Zord continued to charge through the desert with Fran and Dominic on its back. They were getting closer and closer to Corinth with each passing minute. Both of them knew that it was only a matter of time before they reached the domed city but neither of them were confident that they'd find any of their friends there._

_It was at that moment, Fran turned. "Look out!" she screamed. Dominic didn't have time to react as, seconds later, her full body weight slammed into him. Then, he blacked out as he was knocked off the back of the Rhino Steel Zord._

_The monster who had attacked them smiled in satisfaction as Fran was transformed into a tiny mouse because of his magic. However, he realised as he grew closer that Fran wasn't the Power Ranger because she didn't carry the Control Dagger. As the monster realised his mistake, the Rhino Steel Zord charged at him to protect Dominic._

_As Dominic stirred, he was aware of the fact that the Rhino Steel Zord was doing battle with whoever had attacked them. However, as he opened his eyes, he noticed that there was no sign of Fran. He didn't get a chance to worry about her though as the monster turned his attention towards him after throwing the Rhino Steel Zord out of the way using his magic._

"_Who are you? What did you do to Fran?" Dominic demanded as the Rhino Blade appeared in his hand. Dominic took a moment to examine the monster as he considered his reply to the question. _

_The monster was ugly. There was no question of that. One side of the monster was disfigured and grotesque whilst the other made him look like a knight gone bad. In one hand, he carried a staff with a z-shaped tip and in the other was a small black crystal which was releasing sinister green light._

"_I am Lord Thrax, the Destroyer of Worlds, Power Ranger. It was a shame that your friend protected you from my first attack but, don't worry, you'll soon share her fate," Thrax growled._

_At that moment, Thrax fired magic from his Z-staff but the Rhino Steel Zord leapt in the way before the magic could reach Dominic to protect him from its effects. It did little damage to the massive Rhino Steel Zord but it did distract Thrax for long enough to allow Dominic to morph._

"_Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!" Dominic called as he morphed and leapt into the air. Then, he switched the Rhino Blade into laser cannon mode."Rhino Morpher Stampede!" he called as he fired at Thrax._

_Thrax was struck repeatedly by the shots which forced him to back away from Dominic but one shot in particular managed to severely crack his armour. Thrax grimaced when he saw the damage and knew that it would be best to cut his loses and run before he was destroyed so he vanished in a flash of blinding light._

"_No!" Dominic exclaimed in frustration. "I'm not done with you, Thrax!"_

_It was too late, though, as Thrax had already gone. Dominic was furious for a moment before he realised that Fran was still missing. He turned._

"_Fran! Fran! Where are you?" he called. There was a moment of tense silence before Dominic heard an irritated squeak. He looked down to find that he was standing on the tail of a white mouse. He knew what had happened to Fran at that moment._

_She had been hit with the magic that had been meant for him and it had turned her into a mouse. He lifted his foot instantly and lifted the mouse into his hands._

"_Oh, Fran, I'm so sorry... It should have been me..." Dominic whispered before he grew very angry. "I'll make Thrax pay for this, I promise you."_

_Fran squeaked louder and shook her head. It was obvious to him that she didn't want that so he took a deep breath and calmed down._

"_No, you're right, that isn't a good idea. We need to find the others first before we do anything else. Perhaps one of them will know what we can do to help you, Fran," Dominic said as he put the mouse onto his shoulder. Then, he got back onto the Rhino Steel Zord and, by using the Control Dagger, resumed their journey to Corinth._

_**Outside Corinth City, earlier in the current day, late afternoon**_

"_We're almost there, Fran," Dominic said just as the shield came down._

_The mouse on his shoulder squeaked in reply as he held his Rhino Blade in one hand and held the Control Dagger in the other. It was at that moment that he sensed RJ's presence and noticed Croonia as the Rhino Steel Zord continued to charge towards Corinth._

"_He's there," Dominic said simply. "And I think that he's in trouble. Never fear though, Dominic Hargan, the Rhino Ranger, is here. Hold on tight, Fran, we're going for a ride."_

_The mouse started giggling in laughter but did cling tightly to Dominic's shoulder as he had suggested._

"_Rhino Steel Zord, Charge!" Dominic commanded. The Rhino Steel Zord instantly picked up the pace._

_After a few seconds, Croonia noticed him approaching as he entered Corinth. Her sound-wave attack was drowned out, and rendered useless, by the charging Rhino Steel Zord as it was much louder than she was. Dominic smiled. He had the upper-hand here and Croonia knew it. _

_At that moment, he spotted RJ and saluted to him. Then, he turned back to Croonia._

"_I may be slightly late to the party but, if you mess with RJ, you mess with me," Dominic called to Croonia. "Rhino Steel Zord. Transform!"_

_At his command, the Rhino Steel Zord transformed into Warrior Mode and he leapt into the cockpit._

"_Rhino Steel Zord. Warrior Mode!" Dominic said as his lips curved into a smile. He was enjoying this. "This is the end of the road for you, I'm afraid. Rhino Blade Slash!"_

_As quickly as Dominic had entered the battle, he finished it. The Rhino Steel Zord used its finishing move to destroy Croonia before she could unleash any sound-waves and then, Dominic and Fran leapt out of it as it returned to normal._

_As Dominic landed in front of the Rangers, all but one rushed to greet him. RJ turned instead and walked away because he couldn't face his guilt over leaving the other Jungle Fury Rangers behind._

"_RJ! Don't walk away from me," Dominic called to him as he walked away. RJ half-turned with an expression of absolute guilt and sorrow on his face. "Aren't you happy to see me again?"_

_RJ didn't reply and vanished back to the Brachiozord Command Centre in a flash of purple light. _

_Dominic, who stood there stunned to the very core by RJ's reaction, ignored the Rangers asking him questions and Fran's squeaks as she tried to get his attention. Instead, he wondered why RJ could have acted that way. He wondered what had happened to change him so drastically from the fun-loving carefree chef that he had known not so long ago._

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Jungle Fury base, late evening, current time_

"So you're a Master now. Congratulations, my friend," RJ smiled.

Dominic nodded before he sighed. "It suddenly doesn't feel so good to be a Pai Zhua Master from where I'm standing."

"Don't worry about Fran. I would talk to Zordon about what happened, Dominic, and see what he says about it. I'm sure that, if Zordon can't do anything for Fran, he or Tommy will know someone who can help her," RJ assured. "We'll restore her to normal, I promise."

Dominic nodded as he glanced towards the door which now had a big hole in it.

"We'll have to repair that first, RJ," Dominic warned as he pointed towards the door.

"It shouldn't take us too long, Dominic," RJ assured. "I'm sure..."

At that moment, the alarm went off and the lighting went red. Grimly, RJ sighed.

"What's that?" Dominic asked.

"Nothing good. Come on, we had better get up to the main Command Centre to find out about what is happening," RJ said. "Bring Fran as it would be best not to leave her unattended in case anyone gets the wrong idea about her."

Dominic nodded as he took Fran back from RJ and put her on his shoulder. Then, they both headed off to the Command Centre to find out about what had happened.

_Somewhere in a Dark Dimension, late evening, at that very moment_

Thrax grimaced as he attended to his cracked armour. Behind him, the squawks of animals grew louder and it sounded to him as if they were taunting him.

"Be quiet!" Thrax thundered. The animals fell silent. In a cage near to them, the Mercurian, Tyzonn and his girlfriend Vella stood watching him with an expression of disgust.

"You'll never get away with this, Thrax," Tyzonn warned. Thrax laughed at this.

"Who will stop me?" Thrax countered. "You? I certainly don't think so. Now, be quiet so that I can concentrate on tending to my armour."

Tyzonn sighed and fell silent as he turned to Vella. She smiled sadly at him.

Both of them hoped that someone stopped Thrax soon before he had captured enough Rangers to move to the second stage of his master plan as they knew that the whole world would be in great danger if no one stopped him because of the atrocities that he was planning to unleash with their powers.


	17. Memories Part 3: An Original Tale

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Memories Part 3: An Original Tale

_Reefside, Derelict Building, early evening, some time later_

As Tommy strode into the ruins of Hayley's Cyberspace Café, Jason, Zack and Trini had absolutely no idea just how bad a condition he was in. They had bandaged his shoulder wound as best as they could as, despite the fact that they had insisted that he went back to the Brachiozord in the Falconzord with Trent, Hayley, Cassidy and Devin, he had refused to leave them behind. However, they should have forced him to go as Tommy's life was draining away like the blood from his wound and it was only going to be a matter of time before his injury got the better of him...

"Tommy, are you sure that you're all right?" Trini asked with concern. "You almost drowned earlier and you've been injured quite badly by Zeltrax. Perhaps you should have returned with Trent and the others..."

Tommy chuckled. "I won't let a little injury get the better of me. I'm fine, guys," he lied. "The Falconzord will be back soon and, as soon as it returns, I'll be going straight to the Infirmary where IRMA will probably have to give me a few stitches."

He sat down on the nearest chair as he smiled. "All I want to know about right now is what happened to you guys. My injury can wait for a short while."

Trini nodded reluctantly as she took a seat nearby with the others on a dusty sofa.

"There's not much to say, Tommy," Jason replied. "But I'll try. It all began..."

_**Angel Grove, Youth Centre, the fateful day of the Venjix invasion two years ago, late morning**_

"_Well, I can safely say that it has been a long time since I was last here," Zack said as he brought over their smoothies._

_Kimberly smiled. "I know. It's a shame that Billy isn't here with us."_

"_We had no way of contacting him, Kimberly," Jason replied as Zack sat down and Trini dished out the smoothies. "He's on Aquitar, remember?"_

_Kimberly nodded she took a sip of her smoothie. "I know. And Tommy?" _

"_I tried to get in contact with him but everyone, who may have known where he could be, I talked to had absolutely no idea whatsoever about his whereabouts. Even his brother, David, hasn't seen him for a few months," Jason replied. "I wonder where he is and what's keeping him so busy that he can't keep in touch with his old friends once in a while."_

"_We'll find out the next time that he finds a chance to get in contact with one of us. Do you know, it has been years since we were the first Power Rangers and, no matter how hard I've tried, I don't seem to be able to get back to a completely normal life," Trini assured. "Of course, I've tried to be normal. I've had a few jobs here and there after the Peace Conference but I've never been able to hold onto them for very long before my heroic deeds forced me out of town."_

"_I'm fortunate that I managed to get into film directing. I've not had as many problems like that," Zack replied. "Although, I'm sure that at least one of my stuntmen figured out what I once was when I rescued him from a major stunt accident by using a little of the remaining energy in my Mastodon Power Coin to morph and catch him as he fell. Fortunately, I was lucky that we weren't filming that day and that we were only practising our scenes otherwise I would've had a lot of unanswered questions to answer right now."_

"_I've been running a martial arts dojo for a while," Jason shrugged. "I've only ever had to use my Power Coin once to rescue one of my students from bullies. Even then, I found it extremely difficult to do."_

_Kimberly sighed. "You guys are so lucky. I don't have my Power Coin any more so I don't have that sort of temptation in my life at all. The Pan Globals went well but, after that, I didn't know what to do so I drifted for a while before I took a job as a gymnastics teacher here in Angel Grove. Out of all of us, I think that my story is the least interesting one."_

_At that moment, they finished their smoothies and sighed._

"_Mmm... These smoothies are still as good as I remembered them to be," Zack said as he sat back._

"_Mmm... I know," Trini murmured._

"_Perhaps we should have another," Jason suggested._

"_No. I want to go up to the ruins of the Command Centre and see it for myself," Kimberly finally said as she stood. "In all my years in Angel Grove, I've never dared to go up there but, now that you guys are here, I'm sure I'll be able to go today."_

_There was a moment of silence before Jason nodded. "I've always wanted to see it as well. Let's..."_

_At that moment, there was a massive earthquake. Jason was instantly thrown from where he sat and, once on the floor, he spotted a dangerous problem above him. The ceiling had cracked in many places because of the force of the ongoing tremors so they couldn't afford to stay in the Youth Centre in case the ceiling came down on top of them. Ernie, and all of the other patrons, had already noticed this fact and were currently fleeing the building. The other Original Rangers helped him to his feet._

"_We've got to get out of here! The ceiling could collapse at any moment!" Jason exclaimed. Zack nodded in reply._

"_I know, bro," he exclaimed loudly in reply._

_They rushed out of the Youth Centre and, to their great surprise, they were confronted by metallic monsters. Almost instantly, the monsters attacked and the Original Power Rangers reacted instinctively by defending themselves._

"_Stick together! Don't let these things divide us!" Jason called as he took out several of them by striking them in their chests. Beside him, Zack was using his typical dancing-fighting style to take out several more whilst Trini was striking them down with intricate kicks. It was, however, Kimberly who he was most impressed by as, even after all this time, she took out plenty of them using her skills as a gymnast without any slight difficulty like the rest of them were having at that moment. _

"_They've got me," Trini exclaimed seconds later as several of them seized her and she struggled to break free. All of the others turned to her, without thinking, and the metallic monsters seized them whilst they were distracted. Behind them, the roof of the Angel Grove Youth Centre was beginning to crumble and, after deciding to use it to their advantage, the metallic monsters threw the Original Rangers into the wall. The roof collapsed on them and they blacked out._

_**Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, the fateful day of the Venjix invasion two years ago, mid-afternoon**_

"_They're waking up!" a voice exclaimed as the Original Rangers awoke from their unconsciousness. When Jason, Zack, Trini and Kimberly opened their eyes, a number of concerned people, in chains, surrounded the four of them. They were all propped up against the back of the prisoner truck._

"_What happened?" Jason asked as he reached up to touch his head which was now throbbing in agony. His hand returned to his side, covered in dried blood, minutes later and he noticed that they were also chained up as well. _

"_You were unconscious when those Grinders brought you onto the truck. Are you all right?" one of the people asked._

_Jason looked at the others who nodded. "We're fine. So where are we?"_

"_The Grinders loaded us all into prisoner trucks. We don't know where we're heading to but it can't be anywhere good. Everything that we've seen so far has been ruins so there's no one out there who can help us," another person answered. _

_Zack struggled to reach into his pocket. "If I could reach..." he began. Jason and Trini also tried to reach their pockets but the chains stopped them. Kimberly was surprised._

"_You've got them?" she asked instantly._

"_Yes. We can't reach them, though," Jason replied as the prisoner truck went over a rock and everyone was thrown to one side. "We'll just have to wait for a better moment to reach them, though."_

"_What are you trying to get to?" yet another person asked curiously._

"_What they're trying to reach isn't important. Just some wires to break us out of these chains," Kimberly replied quickly as they drove over another rock and everyone was thrown to the other side. _

"_We'll have to wait until the truck stops before we can do anything," Jason grimaced as he sighed. "It's going to be a long wait, I guess."_

_**Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, the day after fateful day of the Venjix invasion two years ago, early morning**_

_As the prisoner truck shuddered to a halt, the Grinder entered the back of the truck. Then, they handed out a little food and water to everyone as they broke the chains._

_After all the chains were broken, the Grinders forced everyone out of the truck and passed out shovels and pickaxes to them as they began to march them towards a nearby quarry._

"_They want us to work?" Zack whispered. "No way."_

"_We've got little other alternative, guys. No matter what, we've got to stay alive for as long as we possibly can," Jason hissed. _

"_But..." Trini began._

"_He's right, guys, we've got little other alternative here. We're hopelessly outnumbered by the Grinders so there's no way that we would be able to take them all down and escape. Even if we did escape, where would we go? You saw how the land has turned into an almost virtual desert now. We wouldn't be able to survive out there for long," Kimberly sighed. "I hate to admit it but we've got a better chance of survival here than we do out there."_

"_But we can't just give up! We've got..." Zack exclaimed._

"_I know. I'm not suggesting that we give up on getting out of here at all. I'm just suggesting that we hold our morphers in reserve until an opportune moment comes along later on, when conditions have improved out there, before we reveal that we're P..." Jason said before he was cut off by Trini as she stood on his foot._

"_I wouldn't mention those words at all, Jason," she warned._

_He nodded. "You're right, I suppose. It would get us into a lot of trouble if we did."_

_There was a few minutes silence for a moment as they looked at each other._

"_Do you know... I really do hope that Tommy's all right, guys," Kimberly said to break the silence. "I hope that he has escaped this nightmare somehow."_

"_If I know Tommy, he'll be somewhere safe right now. He's more resourceful than any of us put together. Don't worry about him," Jason reassured as they arrived at the quarry. He sighed. "To work, my friends."_

_At that moment, he set to work and the others soon followed. All of them knew that their very lives depended on how well they managed to work so they put their full effort into it. They feared the consequences if they didn't work as hard as they possibly could. _

_**Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, a year after fateful day of the Venjix invasion two years ago, late afternoon**_

_Normally, Jason wouldn't make stupid mistakes whilst in the presence of the Grinders. Normally, the Grinders wouldn't do anything about mistakes if they spotted them. However, today wasn't any normal day._

_Two people had already tried to escape today and several people had collapsed. The Grinders, although they were only robots, seemed rather frustrated about the fact that not a lot of work was being done. When Jason had tripped, they had decided to vent their frustration by firing at him._

"_Jason!" Trini had exclaimed as they fired. Instinctively, Jason grabbed the rock that he had tripped over to protect himself. As the shot struck it, the rock shattered into six perfect smaller round stones which fell into his lap._

_Jason snatched them up as he got back onto his feet. There was a tense moment in which the Grinders and Jason stared at each other before Jason scrambled back to work. _

"_Jason... my heart stopped when you tripped," Zack began. "I..."_

"_Not now. I'll explain later," Jason hissed as he put the stones in his pocket. "Just get back to work."_

_Without another word, the Original Rangers got back to work as they knew that they would be in a great deal of danger if any of them made another mistake._

_**Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, a year after fateful day of the Venjix invasion two years ago, mid-evening, several hours later**_

"_So what happened?" Zack demanded as they relaxed on their makeshift sleeping area. It was just a few scraps of cloth lying on the ground but it was where they had slept for the past year. Beside him, Trini and Kimberly looked at Jason as he sighed._

"_I tripped over a rock," Jason replied simply. "I was extremely lucky that the rock stopped me from being killed."_

"_It was a lucky rock then," Kimberly smiled. Her infectious smile made Jason laugh helplessly as he fetched the six perfect round stones from his pocket and showed them the fragments._

"_I guess. I'm going to make them into good luck charms and symbols of our friendship. There's one there for each of us and one for Billy and Tommy as well," Jason promised as he searched his pocket for a knife which he had salvaged from one of the dead attempted escapees from earlier._

_At the mention of Tommy, Kimberly sighed._

"_I really hope that he's all right," she murmured._

"_He'll be all right, Kimberly," Trini assured her. "I'm sure of it."_

_She nodded before Jason began to work on the first of the stones. Silence between them prevailed for several moments before Jason broke the silence by sighing as he stood up._

"_I'm going off for a walk," he said as he took the stone which he was working on and crept past the Grinders to the shore. He __sat on the beach for a while as he worked on the first stone and looked out towards the full moon in the sky that night. He wondered about Tommy for a while before he sighed again._

Wherever you are, my friend, I hope that you're somewhere safe. I also hope that you've had better luck than we've had over this past year. _Jason thought sadly before he became completely engrossed in his work._

_**Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, a year and a few months after fateful day of the Venjix invasion two years ago, mid-evening**_

"_Well, what do you think?" Jason asked as Zack, Trini and Kimberly looked at the stones around their necks. Kimberly smiled sadly before she took hers off again and handed it back._

"_It's beautiful, because the Crane is so lifelike, but I can't keep it, Jason," she smiled. "Hold onto it for me until we get out of here because I don't want to lose it."_

"_A bear?" Trini exclaimed. "But..."_

"_Just like the bear, you've got a fierce desire to protect those in need," Jason replied calmly._

"_And you've got a temper which, whilst you're irritated, is a force to be reckoned with," Zack chuckled. Trini aimed a playful swipe at him. _

"_What have you got? An elephant?" she countered._

"_Actually, I've got a meerkat. I'm clever, agile and a good dancer," Zack boasted proudly before he paused for a moment. "What about you, Jason?"_

"_It's a lion," Jason replied as he turned the stone hanging around his neck to reveal the lion on it. _

"_Just like a lion, you're strong, courageous and a noble defender of the weak," Kimberly smiled._

_Jason chuckled before there was a moment of silence as all of them remembered about Billy and Tommy. With a sigh, Jason revealed the other two stones in his pocket._

"_Don't worry, I didn't forget about them. If we ever get the chance, I'll give them both their stones as well. They're good luck charms, my friends, and I'm sure that they'll serve us well in the years to come," Jason assured._

_**Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, yesterday, very early in the morning**_

_He was upon Kimberly before she, or the other Original Rangers, could react. He had been waiting nearby for the perfect moment during which their guard was down so he could snatch her away from them. That moment had come when they had turned their backs on her as they worked endlessly in the labour camp by the coast._

_Kimberly had cried out, she had struggled and she tried desperately in any way possible to break free of his grip. However, none of these things made any difference as he was just too strong for her. Before Jason, Zack, and Trini, who rushed over to help her instantly as soon as they heard her cry out, could get to Kimberly, he took her and vanished in a flash of eerie green light._

"_No!" Jason cried out. It was, however, too late. Kimberly was gone._

_At that moment, things descended into anarchy in the labour camp as the Grinders, upon hearing his shout, opened fire at random to stop what they thought was a mass escape attempt. The three Original Rangers had fallen to the ground instantly to avoid being shot at by the Grinders because the Grinders believed them to be the source of the escape attempt._

_After allowing a few seconds for the shock of the kidnap of Kimberly to set in as they lay there, the Original Rangers snapped out of their shock and got back onto their feet again._

_Kimberly was gone. They knew that. Jason, Zack and Trini also knew that they couldn't afford to let themselves be killed as well so, hidden amongst the general confusion, they fled the labour camp into the vast, dangerous desert. They hoped as they took flight, with all their heart, that someone, somewhere, would manage to rescue her from the villain before it was too late. _

_**Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, yesterday, late afternoon, some time later**_

"_Have we lost them?" Trini demanded as she took a deep breath and looked around. There were no Grinders in sight so Jason nodded as Zack smiled._

"_I couldn't believe that we managed to steal supplies from the Grinders," Zack exclaimed with a smile as he passed out water and food to everyone from a rucksack he carried. Everyone ate and drank their fill before Jason examined their supplies._

"_These supplies won't last us very long," Jason grimaced before he paused. "Guys, I actually can't believe that Rito is back! I can't believe that he's taken Kimberly either!"_

_Trini nodded. "The worst bit is that we can't go after him either. Damn it..."_

"_We've got to think about ourselves first now. Kimberly wouldn't want us to be killed," Zack replied sadly._

"_Zack's right. I hate to say it, guys, but Kimberly is on her own now. We've got to stay alive first," Jason said grimly. "Which means that we've got to think about our plan to get to safety. I..."_

_At that moment, they heard the metallic sound of Grinders approaching._

"_We haven't got time to discuss that right now," Trini replied. "Run!"_

_Needing no further encouragement, the three Original Power Rangers fled deeper into the desert as the Grinders grew ever closer._

_**Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, yesterday, late evening**_

_They came across the cave as they struggled onwards through the desert. They were all exhausted and they knew that they had to get some rest as soon as possible so they stopped to catch their breath for a few moments._

_Jason looked around for Grinders but there weren't any in sight as far as he could see in all directions. They had truly lost the Grinders for now anyway so, after some consideration, Jason decided that they would chance it._

"_Get in quickly," Jason hissed as he pushed both Trini and Zack into the cave._

"_Hey!" Trini protested but Jason shook his head._

"_We all need to eat and get some rest right now," he replied calmly as he reached into Zack's rucksack to get some food and water for himself. Then, he sat down to relax on the ground so he could get some rest. _

_Hesitantly, after a few seconds of consideration, Zack and Trini followed suit. As they sat down to rest, they both looked at Jason._

"_Are you sure that this is a good idea, Jason?" Trini asked._

"_We really need some rest as we're not going to be able to outrun the Grinders for much longer otherwise," he replied. "I'll take first watch guys so you both just get some rest."_

_Trini and Zack nodded for a moment before they finished their food and water. Then, they closed their eyes and trusted Jason to keep watch as they got some sleep. Jason sat there for a while before he subconsciously felt his eyes going together. Minutes later, he was fast asleep._

_**Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, yesterday, almost midnight**_

_If anything could be credited with their survival when the Grinders caught up with them, it had to be their Power Coins. As the Grinders opened fire, the Power Coins burst into life and caused the three Original Power Rangers to morph which protected their lives as they woke._

_The fire did hurt the three of them but the fact that they had morphed kept them alive. Being fired at had also woken them, so within seconds they leapt to their feet._

"_Power Sword!" Jason called as the Power Sword appeared in his hand. Then, he preceded to take out several of the Grinders at once with an effective slash._

"_Power Daggers!" Trini called to summon the Power Daggers before she defended herself from another attack from the Grinders. _

"_Power Axe!" Zack called as his Power Axe appeared. He quickly cut a path through the Grinders out of the cave. He turned to the other Original Rangers. "Guys, come on we've got to get out of here!" _

_Jason and Trini nodded as they too cut a path through the Grinders to the exit of the cave. Then, with Grinders in pursuit, they ran out of the cave. It was just as they got out of the cave that the worst occurred. They were automatically powered down._

"_What happened?" Trini exclaimed as the Grinders advanced towards them._

"_Never mind that now. Run!" Zack said as he grabbed her arm and they broke into a dead run, with Jason not far behind them, to escape from the Grinders by going deeper into the desert._

_**Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, yesterday, midnight**_

"_We've lost them. For now, anyway," Jason assured after he had looked around for a few minutes. Then, he looked down to the Power Coin in his hand. "I can't believe that they found our hiding place whilst we were resting though. Thank goodness for our Power Coins."_

_Trini sighed. "They don't have a lot of power left in them, Jason, so I don't think that we'll be able to use them more than one more time," she warned. _

_Zack nodded. "So, what are we going to do, Jason?" he asked finally. "We've got Grinders chasing us across the desert, we've not got a clue where we're going and the power in our Power Coins is almost gone so there's no chance of us surviving out here for much longer."_

_Jason was silent for a moment as he considered his options. Then, he suddenly had an idea._

"_I've got an idea, guys," Jason began as he paused for a moment as everyone gathered in close to hear his plan. "Although, I've got to admit that it's going to be risky. We've got to use our Power Coins to contact Tommy to get help. Here's how it works..."_

_**Dreamworld, Angel Grove**_

"I'm here. What do you want of me?" Tommy called out in frustration as he was sick of waiting to find out the reason why he was brought there.

At that moment, behind him, his answers appeared in flashes of coloured light. Tommy turned to find, to his great astonishment, Zack, Trini and Jason; the other Original Power Rangers standing there. They were all dressed in ragged clothing and carried the marks of sorrow and despair on their faces. He didn't know what to say to them. However, before he could think of anything, Jason spoke first.

"Tommy, bro, you've got to find us," Jason begged. His plea startled and confused Tommy slightly.

"What..." he began.

"It doesn't matter, Tommy. We don't have much time left so you've got to find us soon," Trini interrupted.

"Please, you've got to find us, Tommy, man as you're our last hope. You've got to find us before it's too late," Zack added.

Tommy was still startled and confused by their pleas. "Why have I got to find you? Why isn't there much time left?" he asked.

"There's no time to explain, Tommy. You've got to find us," Jason replied. "We trust you, bro. You found Kimberly, didn't you?" Tommy nodded in reply to this. "Now, you've got to find us as well before it's too late."

"I'll try. But..." he began. Jason shook his head.

"No buts, bro, as doubting won't get you anywhere. You've got to find us, before it's too late," Jason replied.

The dream began to fade around him."No, wait... What do you mean? How will I find you?" Tommy exclaimed as Jason pressed something into his hand. He then stepped back to join the others.

"Find us, Tommy... Find us all before it's too late..." they replied just as they vanished in flashes of coloured light just before the dream vanished.

_**Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, earlier in the day, very, very early in the morning**_

_Jason, Zack and Trini stood in a circle holding their three Power Coins out in front of them in the middle of the sandy desert. They had all just used the last of the very little power left in their Power Coins to contact Tommy and, now, without their Power Coins and their Ranger forms, they would be almost completely defenceless if they were attacked by Grinders or evil. They were still unsure about whether they should have used the last of their power to contact Tommy or not so they were silent as they took a few moments to consider the dangerous situation that they had now put themselves in._

"_Well, it's done," Jason said to finally break the silence between them as they looked at each other sadly. "There's no power left in the Power Coins now."_

"_Do you think that it worked?" Trini asked as they put their Power Coins away._

"_We can hope that it did, Trini," Zack replied. "I don't think that we're going to be able to survive out here much longer because the Grinders are still searching for us and we don't have a great deal of water or supplies left."_

"_Tommy will find us, guys," Jason assured, "He'll know that we're in trouble and I'm confident that he'll start searching for us as soon as he can."_

"_That's if he can," Trini countered. "We don't know if he'll be able to search for us or not."_

"_He'll come, Tommy won't abandon us," Zack assured._

"_But..." Trini began._

"_He'll come," Jason said firmly as the sound of approaching Grinders reached their ears. "Come on, we had better get __out of here before they catch up with us."_

_Zack and Trini nodded. Then, after a moment of hesitation, they fled into the night before the Grinders could find them. All of them hoped that Tommy would find them soon before it was too late._

_**Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, earlier in the current day, early afternoon, some time later**_

_Jason ducked behind another bank of sand as he, Trini and Zack continued to flee from the Grinders._

"_We can't keep this up much longer, Jason," Trini warned as she took several deep breaths. "Those Grinders are just relentless." _

_Zack nodded in agreement as Jason sighed._

"_I know that. We've got to keep going, though," he replied. "Tommy will be looking for us right now so we've just got to keep ahead of the Grinders until he finds us."_

"_We still don't know if he's even able to search for us or not," Zack replied. _

"_Tommy will come," Jason replied firmly. "I've got absolute faith in him. He won't let us die out here."_

_At that moment, they heard sound of the metallic Grinders approaching. Jason peered over the sand bank and saw them off in the distance._

"_It's time to go, guys," he said grimly. Trini and Zack nodded and they fled further into the desert again. They all hoped that Tommy found them before it was too late as they knew that they wouldn't be able to outrun the Grinders for much longer._

_**Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, earlier in the current day, mid-afternoon**_

"_Keep running!" Jason exclaimed as they struggled onwards through the desert with Grinders close behind them. "We've got to outrun them!"_

"_There's no escape!" Zack warned as the Grinders closed in on them. The Grinders had trapped them and encircled them to make sure that there wasn't any escape this time._

"_I know that, Zack," Jason growled._

"_Well, it would be a really good time for Tommy to show up now. If he doesn't, we're done for," Trini said. She waited for a moment until they could safely say that nothing was going to happen. Then, she called out in frustration which caused the stone around her neck to glow. "You're meant to take that as a hint, Tommy!"_

_Without any warning, the Falconzord suddenly appeared in a flash of green light above them. Just as the Grinders prepared to fire, the Falconzord took them out. _

"_Wow, it actually worked," Trini said with surprise as she blinked. Jason and Zack both hugged her tightly._

"_Sometimes Trini, your terrifying temper actually comes in handy," Jason smiled. "Your shout must have allowed Tommy to find us. Look, it's the Falconzord."_

_As the Falconzord landed, they rushed over to it and entered once the hatch opened. They were expecting to find Tommy inside but, instead, they found it was empty._

"_He isn't here," Trini sighed._

"_It can't have piloted here by itself!" Zack exclaimed. Jason shrugged._

"_I'm not the expert but I'll assume that it must be able to think for itself on a limited level," Jason replied. "It wouldn't have been able to find us otherwise."_

_To confirm his guess, the Falconzord squawked as the hatch closed and the engines fired up. Then their destination came up on-screen._

"_Corinth City? He's there?" Jason asked. A green tick appeared on-screen and Trini laughed helplessly as the Falconzord took flight._

"_You're talking to a Zord, Jason," she warned as Zack sniggered. Jason shrugged as he sat in the pilot's seat._

"_I'm talking to a sentient Zord, Trini. It can think for itself and act for itself so it's more like a person than you think. Although it can't communicate very well yet," Jason replied. _

_The Falconzord squawked in agreement as the conversation quickly switched to other things that they wanted to discuss._

_Reefside, Derelict Building, mid-evening, current time_

Tommy, from where he sat on the nearest chair, smiled once Jason had finished telling their tale.

"It sounds like you had quite an adventure, guys," he smiled. "It's a shame that my story isn't that interesting."

"Really? I don't think that you can classify Zordon coming back to life and his appearance in front of you as not very interesting, bro," Jason chuckled.

Tommy wiped away the thick layer of sweat which had accumulated on his forehead during their tale. His condition had considerably deteriorated since earlier and time was rapidly running out for him although he didn't say anything about it to his closest friends.

"I suppose, guys," he shrugged in reply as he stood up. At that moment, Tommy felt so incredibly weak that he couldn't stop himself as he collapsed to the ground.

"Tommy!" all of the Original Rangers exclaimed as they rushed over to help him. It was at that moment that all of them spotted just how bad Tommy's condition really was.

"Bro, why didn't you tell us?" Jason demanded.

"I didn't want to worry you guys. Besides, I wanted to hear your story first," Tommy replied weakly. "You need..."

He paused for a moment as he took a deep breath. "You need to use my communicator to call the Brachiozord. Alpha 5 will be able to..."

Tommy fell silent as he drifted into unconsciousness for a few moments. Jason shook him awake.

"You stay with us, Tommy," Jason demanded as he activated the communicator around Tommy's wrist.

"Yes, Tommy..." Alpha 5 began in reply on the other end of the communication link.

"This is Jason, Alpha. Tommy's in a really bad way so you need to send the Falconzord out to us," Jason replied.

"As quickly as you possibly can," Trini begged. "He's deteriorating rapidly!"

"Ai, Ai, Ai, I'll send it to you right away but you'll need to meet it on the beach as it won't be able to land in Reefside. Alpha 5 out," Alpha exclaimed before the communication link was cut off.

"Guys..." Tommy began.

"You just stay still, Tommy," Zack said calmly. "Jason will carry you so that you can preserve your strength."

Jason lifted Tommy up into his arms before he nodded to the others as they hurriedly left the ruins of Hayley's Cyberspace Café. Their main objective was to keep Tommy alive now as nothing else was more important to them than his life. They only hoped that they could save him before what little remaining time he had left ran out completely.


	18. Dreams Part 4: Beware Of Mira Tricks!

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Dreams Part 4: Beware of Mira Tricks!

_Reefside, Reefside Beach, mid-evening, minutes later_

"Come on, Jason! He's getting worse so we can't afford to waste any more time," Trini exclaimed as she and Zack ran into the awaiting Falconzord. Jason was struggling to carrying Tommy over to the Zord behind them.

"I'm going as fast as I can. He's quite heavy, you know," Jason replied as he grunted. In his arms, Tommy was barely conscious and he had deteriorated rapidly over the last few minutes since he had collapsed.

It took another few minutes for Jason to carry Tommy into the Falconzord and, as soon as Tommy was settled in a chair, the Falconzord set off for the Brachiozord Command Centre outside Corinth at full speed. Trini used a cool cloth to try to bring Tommy's temperature down but Tommy, who was barely conscious of his surroundings, swatted it away.

"No... It's not going to make any difference," Tommy murmured.

"It'll bring your fever down," Trini countered as she tried to use the cloth again. Tommy swatted it away again. "Would you stop being so stubborn?"

"It won't make any difference, Trini..." he murmured again. "It's just going to be a waste of your effort..."

"Don't talk like that, bro!" Jason exclaimed. "You're going to be all right."

Tommy smiled weakly. "I'm not so optimistic. The blade that Zeltrax struck me with was cursed and, even now, I can feel its poison flowing through my veins. Soon, it'll just be too late..."

Before Tommy could finish his sentence, he stopped as he suddenly felt rather dizzy before he slowly raised his hand to his forehead as he collapsed out of the chair.

"Tommy!" Zack exclaimed. It was the last thing that he heard as he fell into unconsciousness.

_Dreamworld, Corinth City_

_I hesitantly get to my feet. After falling into unconsciousness, I've found myself here again._

_The Dreamworld. _

_Slowly, I take a look around. It takes me a moment to recognise my surroundings but I soon realise that I'm in Corinth City. Then, I instantly wonder about why I'm here for a moment before I check myself over._

_I'm not wounded in the Dreamworld nor can I feel any of the effects of the poisonous curse. Actually, I can't feel anything at all because I'm rather numb. I count that as a blessing because I would rather not feel the intolerable agony that I was in only a few moments before._

_I wander around. Everything seems quiet but there's something about the silence that I don't like. It's just too eerie for my liking. As I look around, I feel as if something sinister is after me but I can't see anything that arouses my suspicions. _

_I continue to wander around until, finally, the sinister aspect of my dream finds me. As I reach the main square, a mob of angry faceless protesters, with banners with slogans such as "Down with the Rangers" and "The Rangers bring us Evil" on them, await me. I instantly wonder how anyone could hate Power Rangers as, after all, they do protect the world from the evils who would seek to rule it but, before I can ask that question, their leader spots me._

_She's the only protester with a face. She appears to be a young woman and is wearing a bright purple suit with silver glasses. Up until she spots me, she is preaching about the reasons why you should hate Power Rangers but, as soon as she spots me, she stops. _

"_Speaking of Rangers, there's one right there!" she says as she spots me. "Down with the Power Ranger!"_

_The mob of faceless protesters reveal that they're carrying crude clubs at that moment and I grimace._

"_It's just not my day," I say just before I flee. The mob of faceless protesters, with their leader at the front, follow quickly in pursuit. All I know as I run is that I've got to get away from here before they catch up with me. _

_Somehow, as I turn into an alleyway to lose them, I find that they've caught up with me and that I'm trapped. I'm confused because, moments before, they weren't anywhere near me yet now they're right here blocking my path. _

_As I'm forced into the middle of the alley, I realise that I've still got one chance to escape. I know that it's going to be risky but, with the mob rapidly closing in, I've got no other choice. _

_I jump up onto the bins in the alley and use them to reach the emergency fire escape route for the block of flats behind me. Then, I flee up the fire escape route and leave the angry faceless protesters behind. _

I've lost them. _I think in relief. _There's no way that they can follow me now.

_I continue on up the fire escape route until I reach the top floor. However, as soon as I leave the fire escape route, I find that I haven't lost them after all. The faceless protesters are in the corridor and, as soon as they see me, they come rushing towards me._

_I've got seconds to find an escape route so I glance around. Then, I notice that I'm fortunate as the fire escape route is right next to the stairwell. I rush up the stairs as I hear the rest of the faceless protesters coming up the stairs. _

_At the top, I find to my horror that I've walked into another trap. High fences around the rooftop prevent me from escaping so I find that I've got no other choice than to turn and fight although I know that I've got little chance of besting them all. I'm no Anubis Cruger after all. I'm certainly not going to be able to face a hundred of these protesters, like he faced a hundred Krybots, and remain standing afterwards._

_Grimly, I get ready for battle. I curse when I realise that I've not got any of my morphers but I've still got no other choice but to battle them. As the faceless protesters enter, they form a ring around me but none of them attack. Instead, they wait until their leader comes to the front._

"_Who are you?" I demand. "Why has it come to this?"_

_She shrugged. "I'm Mira Tricks. I'm just the voice of the people who have finally decided to get rid of the useless Power Rangers. I'm not important."_

_She pauses for a moment. "But you, of course, are. You're the legendary Power Ranger Dr Thomas Oliver. Everyone's heard of you."_

"_Why has it come to this? What have the Power Rangers done to alienate all of you?" I ask. She doesn't reply._

_At that moment, I see a different person briefly in her place and I blink. I see a ninja, carrying a thin curved sword and wearing purple, red and pink scaled armour over the top of a black ninja uniform. However, it only lasts a moment before I see Mira Tricks again._

_Before I can consider what I've seen, the angry, faceless protesters advance. Then, there's a flash of white light._

_Dreamworld, White Zone_

_When the light subsides, I'm standing in a place with endless white light around me. I take a moment to consider what I've seen before she appears to me._

_Dimitria of Inquiris. I take a deep breath._

"_You brought me here?" I ask. She nods._

"_I did. You must warn them Tommy. You must warn them that they must be wary of Mira Tricks. Now that you have seen what she is, and what she plans, you must warn them, Tommy, before it is too late..." she says just as the dream begins to fade with her. _

"_Wait! Who was she?" I call. It's too late, though, as Dimitria has already gone. And the dream has gone with her._

_Inquiris, late evening, at that very moment_

"Dimitria, do you think that..." Alpha 6 began from where she worked at the console as Dimitria opened her eyes again. Dimitria smiled reassuringly.

"Yes, I think that it might have worked, Alpha 6," she replied as she took a deep breath. "Mira Tricks has the potential to be the downfall of us all but I am sure that Tommy will warn the other Power Rangers. Now, all we can do is wait and pray that my warning has not come too late."

Alpha 6 nodded and continued to work at the console as Dimitria sighed silently because everything was out of her hands now. All she could do was hope that Tommy would warn the others otherwise the universe was doomed.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, late evening, at that very moment_

"He's coming round! IRMA!" Billy called as Tommy drifted back into consciousness. Within seconds, the pain caused by the poisonous curse seeping through his bones came back to him. He groaned.

"Out of my way," IRMA commanded loudly as she pushed all of the Original Power Rangers, who had crowded around Tommy's bed, out of the way to get to Tommy.

"Tommy... come on, bro," Jason urged.

"Come on, Tommy," Kimberly said quietly as Tommy barely opened his eyes.

"You're going to be all right, Tommy," Billy assured. "Just don't move."

"Billy... you've got to beware... she's coming..." Tommy mumbled.

"He's delirious," Trini noted. Billy shook his head.

"I'm not so sure. Beware of whom, Tommy?" he asked.

"Dimitria came to me... Be wary of Mira Tricks... she's coming..." Tommy replied as he fell into unconsciousness again.

Billy was rather pale as he stumbled away from the bed.

"Billy?" Jason asked as everyone turned to him.

"What did he mean? "Be wary of Mira Tricks"?" Kimberly asked.

"Was he delirious?" Trini asked.

Billy was silent for a moment.

"Come on, Billy, you can't hide whatever it is you're hiding from us," Zack finally said. "Spit it out."

Billy grimaced for a moment. "He wasn't delirious. I'm not so sure about what he meant, though. This isn't the first time that something like this has happened either. You guys came to him in a dream and before that there was Kimberly... Zordon must be told about this right away."

"Surely it's not that serious?" IRMA asked. Billy shook his head.

"I'm afraid that it is, IRMA. Dimitria would only warn him about Mira Tricks if we're in a great deal of danger because of her. I don't like the sound of this at all," Billy said grimly. "We've got to tell Zordon."

"Tell me what, Billy?" Zordon asked as he entered.

Billy sighed in relief. Then, without leaving anything out, he and the others told Zordon about what had just occurred.

_Corinth City, Corinth City Town Hall, late evening, at that very moment as well_

There were four candidates for the leadership of the Anti-Ranger protest group on the platform. Three of the four of them were well respected businessmen so they stood no chance of being elected. The fourth, was Mira Tricks.

She knew that her name was in the envelope which was passed to the speaker for the group so that he could announce the winner of the leadership contest. She had held the entire crowd in thrall with her passionate speech earlier in the day. They had hung on her every word and had adored her promise to have the Power Rangers out of Corinth before the end of the week. So, if they didn't pick her, she would be extremely surprised.

"And our leader, as voted by you, the "people", is Mira Tricks!" the speaker declared.

There was a round of applause as Mira Tricks took to the pedestal and cleared her throat. Then, everyone fell silent.

"What can I say? I thank you all humbly from the bottom of my heart for honouring me by choosing me to be your leader. For too long, the Power Rangers have been bringing evil to our doorsteps. Their very presence attracts evils that they can't even protect us from. It's time for them to go and I promise you that they'll leave Corinth before a week ends," Mira Tricks declared. "People Power! Not Ranger Power!"

There were further cheers about this statement. "Now, I must retire to my office for a few moments before I greet the press as your leader. Please, excuse me."

At that moment, Mira Tricks left the platform and everyone was calling her name. They were congratulating her, asking for autographs and chanting "Down With The Rangers!" as she passed them to go to her private office.

As soon as she was inside, Mira Tricks became Miratrix again.

"It's working, Kamdor! The people don't even suspect a thing," Miratrix declared triumphantly as Kamdor appeared in the corner. "You were right that the people of Corinth are afraid of the evils on their doorstep and you were right to say that they would turn against their protectors in times of fear. They're like mindless sheep because they're so easy to manipulate. You tell them to jump and they'll jump without asking why. You tell them to..."

At that moment, the door was knocked and Miratrix reverted back to Mira Tricks again. Kamdor vanished as Mira Tricks opened the door to the PR woman that the group had attracted.

"The press are waiting for you at the Press Conference, Miss Tricks," she said politely.

"I'm ready to face them," Mira Tricks replied with a smile. "Come, we must leave."

Mira Tricks closed the door and, as she walked along the corridor, her smile deepened. Everything was going exactly to plan.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, late evening, a few minutes later_

Zordon activated the communication link to the main Command Centre with a sense of urgency. He knew fine well that Dimitria of Inquiris wouldn't have come to Tommy unless it was extremely important and he also knew that everyone else had to know about the toughest challenge that they were soon about to face.

Mira Tricks.

He was alone in the Infirmary as he had already sent the Original Rangers away to rest and he had gotten rid of IRMA by asking her to fetch him something to drink. When Alpha 5, his ever loyal aide, finally appeared on-screen, Zordon sighed.

"Set off the alarm, Alpha, as I need everyone to come to the main Command Centre right away. We have got a big problem now," Zordon commanded. "I will be up in the main Command Centre in a few minutes."

Alpha 5 nodded. "As you wish, Zordon."

Then, Zordon shut down the communication link and, just as he was leaving the infirmary, the alarm went off. He sighed again.

Things were only going to get more dangerous for the Power Rangers from this moment onwards. Zordon, however, knew that they would be able to cope with the danger because they were the Power Rangers.

And the universe was depending on them to save it from evil.


	19. Chapter 11: It Just Keeps Getting Worse

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 11: It Just Keeps Getting Worse

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late evening_

"What's wrong, Zordon?" RJ asked hesitantly as he entered the main Command Centre with Dominic, who had Fran on his shoulder, and saw the expression on the old sage's face. The other Power Rangers, and some of the associated non-Rangers, had beaten them both there but Zordon still hadn't told anyone why he had summoned them.

"Zordon? Do you want me to tell them?" Kimberly offered as she entered. Both Jason and Trini helped her into the main Command Centre whilst Zack calmly trailed behind them. All of the Original Rangers had cleaned up and changed into new clothing. Jason was wearing a red shirt and denims whilst Zack was wearing a black shirt and trousers. Trini looked quite good in a simple yellow dress but it was Kimberly that everyone was staring at.

She looked extremely beautiful in her pink t-shirt and her long denim jeans. Scott and Flynn were staring open mouthed at her but Dillon snapped them out of it by pulling on their ears.

"She's not available, guys, so you had better not get any ideas," Dillon hissed quietly in their ears.

They nodded and Dillon let their ears go as Zordon smiled at her.

"No, Kimberly, it is all right. I will tell them," Zordon assured as he took a deep breath. "Tommy was badly injured, and cursed, by Zeltrax."

There were several startled exclamations and everyone instantly asked about what happened just as Jason and Trini helped Kimberly into a chair.

Jason sighed. "It's best that I tell you that one. I'm Jason, by the way, and this is Trini," he began as he put his hand on the shoulders of Trini and Zack, "And this is Zack."

After the introductions, Jason took a deep breath and began the tale that they all wanted to hear. "Tommy was injured because..."

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, late evening, at that very moment_

As Tommy groaned, IRMA looked up from where she sat at his bedside with concern. He had gotten much worse since Zordon had left to go to the main Command Centre and IRMA, after she had checked his vital signs, decided that she didn't have a choice.

Tommy had been considerably weakened by the blood-loss from his wounds so he was struggling to find the strength to fight off the curse which had stricken him. Hence, she was going to have to call Zordon down here as she doubted very much that Tommy was going to survive without significant assistance.

She went over to the computer terminal and instantly began to set up a communication link with the main Command Centre. As she worked, she just hoped that she wasn't already too late to save Tommy's life.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late evening, a few moments later_

"And that's the story. I..." Jason said as he finished his tale. However, before he could finish what he was wanting to say after that, IRMA appeared on-screen.

"Zordon, you had better get down here right away. Tommy's getting much worse," IRMA warned.

Zordon grimaced and nodded. "I will be right there, IRMA."

Zordon grabbed his staff and, seconds later, he vanished in a flash of white light.

"Well, what now?" Scott asked. "Zordon's busy and Tommy's incapacitated so who'll lead us now?"

Both Billy and Dominic looked instantly to RJ. When RJ noticed their stares, he shook his head.

"Oh no, I can't," RJ said as he held his hands up. "It should be Jason."

"No, it shouldn't be me," Jason disagreed. "I don't know a lot about what's going on in Corinth whilst, you, RJ, do. It should be you that leads us."

There were a few murmurs before everyone unanimously agreed that RJ was in charge. RJ groaned.

"Well, RJ?" Alpha asked. "The other Rangers have chosen you as the temporary leader until Tommy has recovered. Will you accept the mantle?"

RJ was silent for a moment before he nodded. "Since I have no other choice, I'll accept the mantle of leader," he replied. "Only if the Original Rangers promise to help me wherever they can, of course."

"Of course, we'll help you," Jason assured with a grin. "I used to have to help Tommy out with his leadership skills here and there to begin with anyway."

There was another pause for a moment before Dillon spoke up.

"So, glorious leader, what are your commands?" he asked.

RJ thought for a moment before he replied. "We'll talk about them down in the Ranger Planning Room. Alpha?"

Alpha nodded. "Yes, right away, RJ," he exclaimed as he opened the lift shaft that led down to the Ranger Planning Room.

Everyone stared down the shaft for a moment before RJ sighed.

"So, who's going to make the leap of faith this time?" he asked. "With Tommy incapacitated, it's going to be even more tricky to get down there. Besides, most of our morphers are wrecked so I guess that it's up to either Dominic or Trent."

Hayley shook her head at this.

"Did Tommy never tell you about the secret panel?" she asked as she went over to the controls, which were right next to the big red button, and twisted a knob around 180°. Seconds later, a secret panel slid open beside the lift shaft to reveal another shaft which had a set of ladders that had to lead down to the Ranger Planning Room.

"No, he didn't," RJ replied. "It certainly would have made getting down to the Ranger Planning Room much easier. I'll send the lift up."

With that, RJ leapt down the new shaft and slid down the ladder to reach the Ranger Planning Room. Then, he sent the lift up to retrieve everyone else. As he waited for everyone to arrive, he took his seat at the table.

Once everyone had arrived, RJ began the meeting by standing up as he cleared his throat. Everyone looked to him instantly as he smiled.

"First order of business, our damaged morphers. I'll assume that Billy and Alpha are going to be attempting to repair the overloaded morphers but it's going to take time. Our Zords are also out of commission so we're in quite a lot of trouble here," RJ said as he took off his morpher. Alpha 5 quickly produced a silver tray upon which he put all of the damaged morphers that were handed to him.

"I'll help them. I'm quite familiar with the technology in morphers and, with my help, we should be able to fix the morphers quicker," Hayley added in.

Billy nodded. "It's still going to take us a while, though," he warned.

At that moment, Alpha remembered Hayley's locket.

"This is yours," Alpha whispered as he passed her it just as Billy took a deep breath and sighed. She smiled.

"Thank you," she whispered as she concealed it in her hands just before Billy continued.

"Then, we'll see what we can do for the disabled Zords but I can't promise you that they'll be fixed any time soon. Hence, only Dominic, Trent and I have access to our Ranger forms and we've only got two Megazords at our disposal," Billy said with a grimace. "It means that we'll be at a serious disadvantage because all of Tommy's Zords are going to be unavailable to us as well. No one has the strength of mind to use the Red Battlezord and the other Zords need skilled pilots, who have their Ranger forms, in order to be utilised."

"They don't all need skilled pilots, Billy, I can..." Cestria began.

"No," Jason cut in sharply. "The Red Battlezord stays where it is. It's too dangerous and too difficult for anyone, except Tommy, to control."

"But..." Cestria began.

"No buts, Cestria. He's right," Billy replied with a sigh before he had an idea. "But..."

Billy looked to Alpha. "Alpha, buddy, where did Tommy put all the stuff that he recovered from the ruins of the Command Centre after Goldar and Rito blew it up?"

Alpha shrugged. "Ai, Ai, Ai, in one of the Storage Bay's of course. I'm sorry but I don't know which one."

Billy fiddled around with the communicator around his wrist. "I'll be back in a moment."

With that, he vanished.

"I wonder where he's gone," Cassidy mused.

"He's had an idea. All I can get from his mind, which is all over the place at the moment, is something about a remote control? Any ideas, guys?" Cestria replied calmly.

Cassidy and Devin were shocked by this but Hayley leaned over to them.

"She's telepathic," she whispered in explanation. "Just trust that everything she says is coming out of the minds of those around her."

"He can't be after..." Kimberly began just as Billy reappeared triumphantly with the remote control for the Falconzord.

"Got it!" he exclaimed triumphantly. "We're not so badly outnumbered after all."

"It's a new Falconzord, Billy, how can you be sure that this remote will work with it? It was designed to work with the old one, remember?" Kimberly reminded him.

"Because, Kimberly, I know that Tommy will have rebuilt the Falconzord exactly exactly like the original was by using the original plan. He'll also have included my modifications to the original Falconzord, which allowed me to control it remotely using the remote control, in the new one. Which means..." Billy replied with a wide smile as he activated the remote control.

Seconds later, they could hear faint distant squawks from the Falconzord as the remote began to glow with an oddly golden colour. Seconds later, after Billy had dropped it in fright, the remote control changed completely.

"Wow..." RJ breathed. "It seems that the sentient Falconzord has other ideas about the remote. Let's see..."

Hesitantly, RJ reached out and picked up the remote control. It had changed from looking like a generic piece of technology to looking much more like a morpher. The design of a sleek white Falcon with golden eyes and feathery golden-tipped wings was etched upon a plain grey gemstone and it had an intricate gold and white braided strap to hold it to someone's wrist.

As soon as his fingers clasped around the remote control, RJ instantly found himself engrossed in the sentient mind of the Falconzord. He was only allowed into its thoughts for a few moments but what he saw amazed him. However, as soon as those few moments were up, RJ dropped it onto the table.

"No one touch it," RJ warned. "Your idea of using that to control the Falconzord is out the window now. The Falconzord made it pretty clear to me that it's only for Tommy so it won't be so merciful the next time someone tries to use it. Alpha, bring me a cloth."

Alpha nodded and scurried away. Seconds later, Alpha returned with a golden cloth and RJ picked up the remote control with the cloth. Then, he gently folded the cloth around it and grimaced. Before anything else could be said, the lighting turned red.

"Ai, Ai, Ai!" Alpha exclaimed as he rushed to the computer terminal by the door. "I'll bring up the problem on-screen."

Seconds later, a Breaking News! Report appeared on a screen which dropped down from the ceiling.

"We bring you this live news report from Corinth Town Hall where the Anti-Ranger protest group have come together to elect their leader. And, here she comes now," the reporter began as Mira Tricks took to the podium which had been erected for her to speak from.

"Good evening, ladies and gentleman. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Mira Tricks," Mira began politely.

"Miss Tricks, what have the Power Rangers done to alienate all of you so badly?" one reporter called.

"They bring evil to Corinth. Without the Power Rangers here, Corinth would be a much safer place," she replied simply. "Besides, they don't seem to be able to defend us from evil anyway. Look at what happened with that monster Croonia earlier, for example, when they barely managed to defeat her. What happens if an even stronger monster comes and they can't defend us? What then?"

She paused for a moment. "We'll be destroyed, that's what."

"Miss Tricks. The Power Rangers still do a good job of protecting us. Surely..." another began.

"Besides the RPM Power Rangers, have you ever seen any of the other new Rangers close up?" she interrupted quickly so that she could shift the media's focus towards her next argument.

"No but..." another reporter answered.

"It's because they've got something to hide. These new Rangers, for all we know, could be criminals or murderers whom the Power Rangers are sheltering from justice. If they had any good intentions, surely they would be showing their faces to the world?" Mira Tricks continued swiftly.

"But..." yet another reporter began.

"No, it can't go on. I've made a promise to my supporters that, by the end of the week, the Power Rangers will leave Corinth for good. I intend to stick to that promise. Now, if you can excuse me, I've got to go now. We're planning our first course of action against the Power Rangers," Mira Tricks said as she turned and left the podium. Behind her, a number of Anti-Ranger protesters had gathered and were chanting slogans like "The Rangers bring us evil!", "People Power! Not Ranger Power!" and "Down with the Rangers!". Seconds later, the broadcast cut off.

All five Original Rangers were looking at each with expressions of shock.

"He knew..." Kimberly said as she was lost for words.

"This doesn't look good guys. We're in a lot of trouble," Jason added. "Especially if we were forewarned about Mira Tricks by Dimitria."

"I'm confused," Kira admitted. "You already knew about this?"

"I think that we're owed an explanation here," Flynn added.

"Dimitria came to Tommy in a dream whilst he was unconscious, guys," Billy replied as he stood up. "We don't know exactly what he saw but, when he returned to consciousness earlier, he warned us that Dimitria had warned him to be wary of Mira Tricks and that she was coming. We couldn't get anything more out of him before he dropped back into unconsciousness again."

"That sounds kind of out there," Ziggy burst out.

"This isn't the first time something like that has happened," RJ replied calmly. "And Tommy isn't the only one who's been having these warnings either. They've..."

"They've been very helpful to us indeed," Billy cut in to silence RJ. He shook his head in warning to RJ that he shouldn't pursue this discussion any further. "Mira Tricks, though, is our priority. Did anyone recognise her?"

There was a moment of silence before Kira answered him.

"I can't shake the feeling that she and I have met somewhere before but I don't quite recognise her," she said.

"I want you to keep thinking, Kira," RJ said calmly. "I'm sure that you'll remember her eventually."

There were another few moments of silence before Trent accidentally yawned and RJ smiled.

"I think that we all need to get some sleep," RJ said as the infectious yawn spread throughout all of those present in the Ranger Planning Room. "It would be best for us to come back in the morning to discuss anything that we've missed tonight anyway."

Billy nodded in agreement as he turned to the Original Rangers. "We've got to get back to Tommy," he reminded them.

Jason nodded in agreement. "And we've got to get Kimberly back to the Infirmary. See you in the morning."

With that, the Original Rangers left and everyone else soon followed. Eventually, only Dominic, RJ and Alpha 5 remained.

"You go on ahead, Dominic. I'll catch up," RJ promised.

Dominic nodded and left as Alpha 5 looked at RJ curiously.

"What is it, RJ?" Alpha asked.

"You better keep this, Alpha," RJ said as he handed over the golden bundle to the robot. "When Zordon returns, make sure that he gets this."

Alpha nodded. "I will, RJ. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Alpha," he smiled in reply as he left. Tomorrow, he knew, was likely to be a difficult day so RJ wanted to get as much rest as possible. It only took him a few minutes to catch up with Dominic and, together with Fran, the pair of them headed back to the Jungle Fury base.

As for Alpha, he stood silently in the middle of the Ranger Planning Room for a moment whilst gazing at the golden bundle hesitantly before he took it and returned upstairs.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, late evening_

"How is he?" Kimberly asked with concern as she and the other Original Rangers entered the Infirmary. Zordon looked absolutely exhausted as he sat in chair beside Tommy's bed. Tommy lay perfectly still on the bed and he looked slightly better than he did earlier.

"He's still alive but he's still unconscious," IRMA replied. "The good news is that..."

"I have completely healed his injury," Zordon finished. "However, I could not remove the curse. Tommy will have to fight it by himself now."

Kimberly settled into her bed and IRMA helped to tuck her in.

"Don't worry about him, Kimberly. He's a fighter so I'm sure that he'll survive this," IRMA smiled reassuringly. "The good news for you is that this is the last night you'll be spending in here. Tomorrow, you're free to go."

Kimberly smiled at this. "I can't wait. I've been itching to explore this massive Zord since Tommy first told me all about it."

Jason looked to Tommy sadly and, when he spotted the stone around his neck, he remembered about the good luck charms he had to give to Kimberly and Billy.

"Which reminds me," Jason declared as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the two stones. "This is your stone, Kimberly, and this is your stone, Billy."

He put the stones around their necks and Billy smiled when he examined it.

"It's just like Tommy's stone," he commented. "Except, I've got a wolf instead of a Falcon."

Kimberly smiled. "They're good luck charms, Billy," she explained.

"And they seem to have a connection to each other. When Tommy nearly drowned, our stones burst into light and warned us about what was happening through a vision," Trini added.

Zordon was intrigued by this but he said nothing. Instead, he sighed.

"What's wrong, Zordon?" Zack asked.

"Nothing is wrong, Zack. It is time that I go get some rest now," Zordon replied as he stood up to leave. Before he left, though, he turned to the Original Power Rangers. "You should turn in as well."

"But Tommy..." Jason began.

"Can wait. If anything happens to him during the night, I'll wake you straight away," IRMA promised. "Now, go. You're all going to be exhausted after the hardships you've endured so you're all going to need some rest."

Jason sighed in resignation. "All right, IRMA, we'll get some rest."

Then, Billy, Zack and Trini followed Jason out of the Infirmary as Kimberly sighed.

"He'll be all right, Kimberly," IRMA assured. "Now you get some sleep."

Kimberly nodded in reply and closed her eyes. Then, after a little while, she fell asleep.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, almost midnight, some time later_

"Ai, Ai, Ai, Zordon! That tickles!" Alpha laughed helplessly as he squirmed slightly whilst Zordon was working away on him. His front panel had been removed and Alpha could "feel" Zordon gently moving some of the wires aside.

"Hold still, Alpha," Zordon commanded. "You know the importance of this object. No one will suspect that I have hidden it within you and, if anything should ever happen to me, you will be able to keep it safe until the time is right to hand it to its rightful owner."

Alpha nodded as he continued to laugh helplessly. "Yes, Zordon. I can't stop laughing, though."

"Just a few more seconds," Zordon warned as he used his magic to form a protective bubble around the golden bundle before he inserted it into the heart of Alpha's circuitry. Then, Zordon fixed the front panel back into place.

"It feels a little strange, Zordon,"Alpha said after a few moments. "But I think that I'll be able to adjust to its presence."

"Remember, you must tell no one that you are the keeper of that morpher until the time is right, Alpha," Zordon warned. "The fate of the world may, in the end, depend upon your discretion."

Alpha nodded. "As you command, Zordon. I won't tell a soul. I promise."

"Now, I am going to get some rest. Wake me up if anything happens," Zordon said before he left. Alpha 5 sighed as he squirmed uncomfortably for a moment. Then, he started work on RJ's morpher. It was the most complex of all the morphers there so Alpha knew that it would take the longest to repair. It wasn't as extensively damaged as the other morphers were anyway so Alpha was confident that he could have it repaired by the morning.

As he set to work, he glanced out at the full moon outside and sighed. It was going to be a long night.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, early morning, the next day_

"Good morning all," Zordon declared with a smile as Cestria handed out breakfast. "I am sorry that I could not stay for the discussion last night but Tommy did urgently need my attention."

"How is Dr O.?" Trent asked.

"There's still no change, Trent," Kimberly replied simply.

"I've got an announcement, if I may?" Dr K. declared as she stood up. Zordon nodded in reply to her request. "My team and the technicians finished work on the Triceratops Dinozord this morning. We have also made significant progress with the Pterodactyl Dinozord, the Sabertoothed Tiger Dinozord, the Mastodon Dinozord and the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord. At the current rate of work, we'll have the Pterodactyl Dinozord finished by lunchtime and the other three Zords finished by tomorrow morning."

Billy smiled. "Thank you, K.. Your team has done a really good job."

Dr K. smiled. "I'm glad that you think so."

"I would normally come down to the Zord Construction Bay to help you but Alpha, Hayley and I are going to be attempting to fix the overloaded morphers," Billy replied.

"Oh!" Alpha said as he remembered about RJ's morpher. He disappeared for a moment and returned with it. It looked as good as new and, when RJ saw it, he smiled.

"I'd forgotten that I had fixed your morpher last night, RJ," Alpha explained. "It wasn't as badly damaged as we originally thought."

RJ took it from Alpha and smiled. "Thanks, buddy."

"So what about the rest of us?" Scott asked.

"Until your morphers are repaired, you can do anything you want," Zordon smiled as RJ strapped his morpher back to his wrist. "You may all go once you have had your breakfast."

Since everyone had already finished breakfast, they left after they had complimented Cestria for her delicious meal. However, Jason, Zack, Kimberly and Trini remained behind with Zordon.

"It's time, isn't it, Zordon?" Jason asked quietly. Zordon nodded.

"Yes, it is. I rested well last night but, as soon as I have restored all of your morphers, I will be going straight back to my bed to recover. As the Original Power Rangers, your morphers are the most difficult to restore because they are the most powerful. All of the Power Rangers since your time have not been as strongly connected to the Universal Morphing Grid as you were because you were the first Rangers," Zordon replied. "Come here."

They obeyed instantly. "Now hold out your hands and hold still," Zordon commanded as he closed his eyes. As they held out their hands, Zordon began to summon his magic to him. With the aid of his staff, he managed to bring their Power Coins to all of the four Original Power Rangers. As soon as they appeared, the Power Coins were re-energized and Jason, Zack, Kimberly and Trini could feel the familiar warmth of the Power spreading through their bodies. Kimberly had both of her Power Coins and smiled.

Zordon, however, crumpled in exhaustion because of the effort that it had taken him to return the Power Coins. Jason and Zack caught him instantly and managed to help him to his feet.

"We'll take Zordon back to his room. You guys head down to the Training Gym and we'll meet you there. If we're going to be good at defending Corinth, we're going to need to regain our lost skills," Jason said to Trini and Kimberly before he and Zack left with Zordon. Trini and Kimberly soon followed behind them. As they made their way down to the Training Gym, Trini and Kimberly were smiling.

Although many years had passed since they were last active Power Rangers, it felt good to be back.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, in the corridor outside the Jungle Fury base, early morning_

RJ and Dominic were standing there grimly as they looked at the gaping hole in the door which Dominic had created yesterday evening. They had promised to repair it and, now, they were being held to their word.

"It won't take us long. All we need to do is find a spare door panel, remove the old one and replace it with a new one. Then we'll need to dispose of the old one," Dominic assured RJ. RJ nodded.

"The Storage Bay is down this way," RJ replied as he began to walk further down the corridor. "I'm sure that there'll be a few spare door panels in there somewhere."

Dominic grimaced as he followed RJ down the corridor. It suddenly seemed like it wasn't going to be such a simple job after all.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Training Gym, early morning, a few minutes later_

As all of the RPM Power Rangers entered the Training Gym, they were surprised to find Jason, Zack and Trini morphed. However, they were more amazed by the combat which was taking place between the three of them. Each of them were using their Power weapons against the others without holding back and it was clear to the RPM Power Rangers that several painful blows had already been struck.

The RPM Power Rangers watched for a moment until, finally, Jason managed to defeat Zack and Trini which caused both of them to be forcibly powered down.

"Wow," Scott breathed as Jason looked up. He smiled as he took off his helmet and cast it to one side.

"Hey, RPM Power Rangers, fancy a match?" Jason smiled.

"I wouldn't if I were you," Trini warned as she and Zack got back onto their feet with several groans. "He's extremely good, by the way. I should have taken Kimberly's advice and left. She has gone to be at Tommy's bedside, of course."

The RPM Power Rangers huddled together and murmured amongst themselves for a moment. Then, they nodded.

"You're on," Scott declared. "Dillon, Flynn and I have been taking a few lessons from RJ so we should be more than a match for you."

"Don't overestimate your abilities, my friends. Jason is about as good as Tommy is at martial arts," Zack warned. "If you still insist on battling him, go ahead but just don't say that we didn't warn you."

The RPM Power Rangers shook their heads.

"He'll be outnumbered so he stands no chance against all of us," Ziggy pointed out.

"That's what you think," Jason snorted as he powered down. "Trini, Zack, stand back and let me show them what it's truly like to be a master of the martial arts."

"We will, Jason. Without Tommy's help, even if we all fight you, we're never able to defeat you," Zack replied as he and Trini got out of the way.

"Ready?" Jason asked with a smile as the RPM Power Rangers lined up in their fighting stances.

"Aye!" Flynn replied.

"Charge!" Scott commanded.

The RPM Power Rangers charged. Jason, however, waited calmly for them. When they reached him, he took out Ziggy quickly by slamming him into the wall. Then, he took out the trigger happy Gem and Gemma by using some well aimed blows to knock them into the wall as well. Summer didn't last very long after that because Jason, whilst dodging blows from Scott, Flynn and Dillon, singled her out as the next weakest link in team of RPM Power Rangers. He concentrated all of his blows on her and he managed to get rid of her by knocking her into Gem and Gemma as they tried to get back up again. The fight, from that moment onwards, was a bit more evenly matched.

Scott and Flynn's overconfidence was eventually their undoing and also meant the end for Dillon and Ziggy, who had just managed to recover, as well. As they attacked using a risky move, they left themselves vulnerable and Jason exploited it. He grabbed both of their wrists, twisted their arms behind their back, and threw both of them into Dillon and Ziggy. This knocked all four of them into the pile, which already consisted of Summer, Gem and Gemma, and Jason smiled in satisfaction.

"You're good but you're not good enough," Jason said. "I've had years and years of practice. If you guys want, Zack, Trini and I will show you a few of our moves."

The RPM Power Rangers talked amongst themselves for a moment as the pile dismantled before they nodded.

"Show us what you've got, then," Scott declared. Jason smiled as he turned to Zack and Trini. They nodded.

"Well... I'll show you the best move in my arsenal. It goes like this..." Jason smiled as he began to explain to the RPM Power Rangers about the corkscrew kick.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Dino Thunder base, mid-morning_

As Kira played away on the guitar, Trent was making a good attempt at drawing her portrait. Devin and Cassidy, wearing clean white clothing, watched and listened intently from where they sat on one of the other beds. Kira's music was hauntingly beautiful in its simplicity whilst Trent's portrait looked so lifelike that they were struggling to tell the difference between the portrait and the real person.

"Wow, you guys are really good at what you do," Cassidy complimented. Trent smiled at this.

"It took a great of practice for me to get this good," he replied calmly.

"But you've still got to have some innate talent to be this good as well," Kira added.

Devin nodded. "Just like Cassidy and I, I guess. We were really good at our work as reporters all those years ago."

"Those were the days..." Cassidy began as she started to tell them about one of the many mishaps that she and Devin had escaped from.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Main Lab, mid-morning_

"Yes!" Hayley exclaimed triumphantly as the Yellow Dino Morpher came back on-line. "We've fixed it."

"The RPM morphers are proving much more difficult to fix this time," Alpha sighed. "They've taken the most damage."

"I know, Alpha. Why don't you take this morpher to Kira? I'll take over here for a little while," Billy suggested. Alpha nodded.

"I'll go right away, dude," Alpha promised as he took the morpher and left. Billy watched him go with a smile before he grimly took over Alpha's work on the RPM morphers. It didn't take him long to realise how badly they were damaged and, every time he fixed one problem, another cropped up. It was clear to Billy that it was going to take them a while to get the RPM morphers back in working order. However, he wasn't too bothered about the time it was going to take as, to Billy, it was all in a day's work when you were the resident technical genius.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zord Construction Bay, mid-morning_

"Status," Dr K. called to the many teams of technicians working on the four different Zords being constructed in the Zord Construction Bay from where she stood on a platform so that she could be seen by all of them.

"We're fine over here," the leader of the first team, which was working away on the Pterodactyl Dinozord, called.

"And we're fine here," the leader of the second team, which was working away on the Sabertoothed Tiger Dinozord, called.

"We've got no problems," the leader of the third team, which was working away on the Mastodon Dinozord, added.

"K., we could do with some help over here!" Anton Mercer called as he and his team of technicians were struggling to rebuild the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord, the biggest and most difficult of all the Zords, over in the far corner. Tenaya 15 was helping them.

"I'll come over straight away!" Dr K. called in reply. As she began to make her way down to Anton Mercer and his team, she sighed. They had a long arduous day ahead of them as all of the technicians knew that they had to get these Zords built and ready for active service as fast as they could. The survival of Corinth City could depend on it.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, in the corridor outside the Jungle Fury base, mid-morning_

"Well, that's the door fixed," Dominic declared after he had tested it to check it still worked. He turned to the ruined door sitting against the wall behind them. "We'll have to get rid of that now."

"That's your job, my friend," RJ smiled as he patted Dominic's free shoulder. "I've got a promise which I made to Tommy yesterday that I've got to go keep. Besides, you were the one who broke the door originally so you should be the one to take the broken door down to the trash. I'll meet you back here when I've fulfilled my promise."

Despite Dominic's protests, RJ left him at that moment as he began to make his way to the infirmary.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, mid-morning, a few minutes later_

Kimberly sighed as she sat there watching Tommy. There still hadn't been any change in his condition so Kimberly was starting to get worried.

"He'll pull through this, Kimberly," RJ smiled as he entered. Kimberly and IRMA looked up from where they sat.

"RJ, why have you come?" Kimberly asked. RJ looked down.

"I made Tommy a promise before I returned to the Brachiozord yesterday. I'm here to keep it," he replied simply.

Kimberly was silent for a moment. "Tell me," she finally said.

"He made me promise that I would tell you that he didn't mean to be harsh when he argued with you yesterday. If he hadn't been injured, he was going to visit you personally and, judging from the impression I got from him, beg for your forgiveness," RJ replied.

Kimberly looked away. "I..." she began before she burst into tears. RJ instantly went over to comfort her and sighed. By the looks of Kimberly, RJ knew that he was going to be comforting her for quite a while.

_Sometimes, I end up with some of the worst jobs._ RJ thought with a silent sigh.

_Outside Corinth City, Outside the Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-morning, at that very moment_

As Mira Tricks and her Anti-Ranger protest group approached the Brachiozord, she smiled.

Everything was going exactly to plan.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-morning, a few minutes later_

When Cestria saw the approaching mob, she instantly set off the alarm and the lighting turned red. That mob could only mean a great deal of trouble for the Power Rangers. Especially when Mira Tricks was at the head of it. Little did she realise that things were about to get much worse.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Jungle Fury Base, mid-morning, at that very moment_

As soon as Dominic heard the alarm, just after the lighting had turned red, he grimaced. He had just returned from disposing of the door and he hadn't even managed to sit down before the alarm had gone off. He cursed at his bad luck.

Finally, after a moment of pause, he began to make his way straight up to the main Command Centre.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Training Gym, mid-morning, also at that very moment_

"We had better get up to the main Command Centre to find out about what has just happened," Jason grimaced as the lighting turned red.

"Let's just hope that it's nothing too serious," Dillon added as the RPM Power Rangers, and the three Original Rangers, ran out of the Training Gym to make their way up to the main Command Centre.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Dino Thunder base, mid-morning, also at that very moment_

"We've got to go," Trent grimaced as he put his drawing materials down. At the same time, Kira also put down her guitar.

"But we'll be back as soon as we've dealt with whatever is going on," Kira promised. Cassidy smiled.

"Go on, we'll be fine," she assured.

Kira and Trent nodded. Then, they left for the main Command Centre together.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Main Lab, mid-morning, also at that very moment_

"Oh no..." Billy muttered as he heard the alarm.

"You had better go, Billy," Hayley said calmly. "They'll need your expertise up there."

"But..." Billy began.

"I'll be fine. Without your expertise, though, they may not be," Hayley assured him with a smile. Billy nodded as he put down what he was working with and smiled.

"Thanks, Hayley, I'll be back as soon as I can," Billy promised as he fled the room and made his way towards the main Command Centre.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zord Construction Bay, mid-morning, also at that very moment_

"Just ignore the alarm," Dr K. commanded calmly. "The Rangers will deal with it. We've got to concentrate upon building these Zords."

The technicians nodded and continued on with their work. Dr K. sighed. Regardless of what was going on out there, she only hoped that her Power Rangers were all right.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, mid-morning, also at that very moment_

When he heard the alarm, RJ knew that he was going to ignore it. Right now, comforting Kimberly was at the top of his priorities and nothing else mattered to him. He only hoped that what was going on out there wasn't serious enough to require his attention as he couldn't leave Kimberly in the state that she was in now.

Tommy would kill him if he did.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-morning_

"Cestria! Report!" Zordon demanded as he wearily entered the Command Centre and sat down on the main Command Chair. All of the Rangers except RJ and Kimberly entered at that moment.

"Mira Tricks and her Anti-Ranger protest group have shown up outside, Zordon," Cestria replied grimly. "There's at least a hundred protesters, perhaps slightly more, with banners surrounding the Brachiozord."

"This is very bad, indeed," Billy grimaced. "We've got to do something."

"What can we do? If Tommy was here, he'd have had some brilliant idea to get rid of the Anti-Ranger protesters by now," Trent countered.

"Well he isn't here so we've got to come up with something ourselves," Jason replied calmly as he glanced at the looks of despair on most of the faces in the room. "Come on, guys, we're the Power Rangers. We're not going to let Mira Tricks, and the Anti-Ranger protest group, get rid of us that easily."

There was silence for a moment.

"RJ?" Jason asked turning to see if RJ was there. He wasn't. Jason also noticed that Kimberly wasn't in the main Command Centre either. "Where are Kimberly and RJ?"

"RJ said he had a promise which he made to Tommy that he had to keep. Last I saw of him, he was heading towards the infirmary," Dominic replied as Fran squeaked.

"And Kimberly was in the infirmary with Tommy," Trini added.

"Well, we'll just have to get along without them," Jason decided just as Alpha entered the Command Centre.

"Sorry, it just took me a while to get up here," Alpha apologised. "I've been searching all over the place for you, Kira. We've repaired your morpher."

Kira smiled. "Thanks, Alpha, Billy," she said as Alpha handed over her morpher. She strapped it to her wrist as she sighed.

"Well, as I was trying to say, does anyone have any good ideas?" Jason asked.

After a moment of silence, Dillon spoke up. "I might have one," he said. "We could..."

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, in one of the corridors near to the Zord Construction Bay, late morning_

The technician looked around. There were no security cameras around this lone computer terminal and there were no signs of any other obvious security features either. It was a perfect terminal to use for his plan.

Or so he thought.

As he unmasked, Kamdor took a deep breath. It had taken him quite a great deal of work for him to infiltrate the Brachiozord and, now, after all his hard work, he was only minutes away from getting what he had come here for.

The plans to the Power Ranger's Zords which were held on the Brachiozord's main computer system.

He calmly went to the computer terminal and began to furiously type in code to try to bypass the security codes on the files. However, within the space of a few seconds, the hidden security features kicked in.

The system instantly went into lockdown mode and, despite Kamdor's attempts to unlock it, it wouldn't respond to him. Then, the lighting turned amber and all of the doors nearby locked shut. Kamdor cursed.

The Rangers were going to be on to him now. He had to find a way to get of the Brachiozord before it was too late so he ran. As he ran, Kamdor hoped that there was an escape route out of the Brachiozord that hadn't been locked down otherwise he was going to be in serious danger because the Power Rangers would soon be after him.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late morning_

"What's going on?" Scott exclaimed as the soundproof door shut tight. Zordon turned sharply to the door as the system shut down and a seemingly endless warning message appeared on-screen.

_Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!..._

"It seems that we have got an intruder," Zordon grimaced.

"And it just keeps getting worse..." Billy muttered as the RPM Power Rangers tried to open the door. It wouldn't budge.

"It won't budge!" Gem and Gemma exclaimed in unison.

"Of course it's not going to budge. We're locked in to protect us from the intruder and, without Tommy's override password, we're trapped in here without any means of escape," Billy confessed.

A few moments of silence occurred before Zordon stood up.

"It seems that we can only hope then that Tommy overcomes the curse afflicting him before it's too late," he sighed.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Main Lab, late morning, at that very moment_

As the door shut tight, Hayley turned sharply towards it.

"Oh no..." she murmured as she stared at the door.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Dino Thunder Base, late morning, also at that very moment_

As the door shut tight, Cassidy got a fright.

"What's happening?" she asked.

"I don't know. Perhaps we should just sit quietly in here until we find out," Devin suggested.

"Perhaps we should," Cassidy agreed.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zord Construction Bay, late morning, also at that very moment_

"What's happening?" one of the technicians asked as the door shut tight.

"I don't know," Anton Mercer replied. "The system is down, though."

"We've got to keep working, regardless of what is happening out there, as the Power Rangers are going to need these Zords in order to defend Corinth from evil," Dr K. warned. "Whatever is going on, the Power Rangers will deal with it."

And, since no one wanted to argue with Dr K., the technicians continued their work on the Dinozords.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, late morning, also at that very moment_

As the extremely thick solid titanium door closed shut, to protect all who were in the Infirmary, everyone looked up sharply.

"What's happening?" Kimberly asked as she suddenly stopped crying.

"The Brachiozord has entered lockdown mode," IRMA replied grimly. "There's an intruder somewhere in this Zord."

"An intruder? I've got to get up to the main Command Centre!" RJ exclaimed as he ran to the door and tried to shift it out of the way. It wouldn't budge for him.

"It's no use because only Tommy knows the override password to reverse the lockdown and, because he's unconscious, he can't help us," IRMA replied grimly.

Kimberly looked to Tommy's still form for a moment before she reached up to his ear and whispered, "I need you."

The effect this had on Tommy was instantaneous. He stirred instantly and groaned when he started to feel the poisonous curse spreading through his bones again.

"Tommy," RJ said instantly as he turned to him. Tommy opened his eyes instantly and took a few moments to look around before a look of confusion spread across his face.

"An intruder? Here? What happened?" he asked.

"We don't know," IRMA replied calmly.

"We need your help, Tommy, to get past the doors," RJ added.

Tommy sighed before he suddenly felt extremely weak again. "Oh no," he groaned. "Listen, the override password is..."

However, before he could tell them the password, he collapsed back into unconsciousness.

"Tommy!" Kimberly exclaimed.

RJ banged his fist against the wall in frustration. "Damn it! What are we going to do now?" he exclaimed.

"Wait," IRMA replied simply. "It's all up to Tommy now. He's got to overcome the curse afflicting him so that he can help us before it's too late."

RJ sat down with a sigh at this as Kimberly grimaced. It was going to be a long wait, then.


	20. Dreams Part 5: The Curse's Conquest

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Dreams Part 5: The Curse's Conquest

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, late morning, a few minutes later_

Tommy groaned slightly as he tossed slightly to one side. He was now heavily coated in sweat even though he wasn't injured physically. The curse was spreading and getting stronger as every moment passed. And, at the same time, Tommy was deteriorating rapidly.

"That's it. I'm going to hook him up to the monitors," IRMA declared as she went to fetch the monitors. RJ and Kimberly looked at each other with worry in their eyes.

"He's going to overcome this, Kimberly," RJ promised as IRMA dragged the monitors through and hooked Tommy up to them. After a few seconds, it became clear to them that Tommy was in a much worse state than they had originally thought. His pulse was dropping with every minute that passed as his temperature and brain activity were increasing.

"IRMA... will he make it?" Kimberly asked.

"Kimberly, as much as I want to hope that he will, it's not looking too good for him right now," IRMA admitted quietly.

"He'll make it. I'm sure of it," RJ replied firmly.

Kimberly nodded. However, it was clear by the anxious expression upon her face that she didn't believe his words.

To be honest, though, RJ wasn't quite sure if he believed himself either. Seeing how bad Tommy really was had seriously shaken his firm belief that Tommy would live through this. However, he still had to hope that Tommy would make it.

Otherwise, if he didn't make it, they would be trapped in here forever. And RJ didn't want to think about that possibility.

_Dreamworld, Ruined Wastelands_

Where am I? _I wonder silently as I look around at the barren wasteland around me before I look down at my feet to ponder the unusual familiarity this place filled me with. _Why does this place seem so familiar?

"_It's familiar because you've been here before, Tommy," a voice replies aloud. I look up._

"_You," I reply simply. "Why are you here?"_

_I hear a chuckle coming from him as he walks down from the top of the hill, which he had been standing upon moments before, towards me._

_The Green Ranger. Even seeing him before me now, reminds me of all the terrible acts which I had committed when I first became a Power Ranger. I shiver._

"_I'm here, Tommy, to talk," he says with a sigh. _

"_Talk away," I say in a tone which suggests to the Green Ranger that I'm not too convinced by his words._

_The Green Ranger nods. "Very well. It was the curse that brought you here, Tommy, and it unintentionally brought us with you. Your time is running out because, with each passing second in the real world, the curse grows even stronger as you grow considerably weaker. If you don't conquer the curse soon, it will become too strong for you to defeat."_

_I sigh._

"_But..." I begin to protest._

_The Green Ranger, however, doesn't listen to me. Instead, he's looking behind me and I don't have a clue why._

"_I think, Tommy, that it's time for you to go," The Green Ranger warns as he grabs my arm and turns me to face them. They stand on top of the other hill and appear to me to be black shadowy creatures. I turn pale._

"_What are they?" I ask._

"_Hopefully, you'll never have to find out," he answers simply. "It's time for you to go Tommy. You'll find the curse at the top of that mountain behind us."_

_I'm hesitant to leave and he notices this._

"_You're not ready to fight these sorts of creatures yet. Run, I'll hold them off for you!" The Green Ranger snaps as the shadowy creatures advanced. As I see their sharp claws, I don't need much more convincing. I break out into a run and, __as the Green Ranger charges to distract them from me, I don't look back as I make my way through the wasteland._

_As I flee, I know that my time is running out. So, I just hope that he'll be able to hold off those creatures for as long as possible to give me a chance to escape._

_Dreamworld, Mysterious Forest_

I think that I've gotten away from them. _I think as I stop and look around. There's no sign of the black shadowy creatures anywhere and, as far as I can see, there are trees in all directions which will make it harder for those shadowy creatures to find me. I sigh in relief._

"_I wouldn't stop if I were you. They're relentless, Tommy," a voice warns. I jump in fright and turn to see the White Ranger._

"_You as well? You gave me a fright there," I smile. The White Ranger shrugs._

"_You should be glad that it wasn't those shadowy creatures," he replies._

"_What are they?" I ask. The White Ranger shakes his head._

"_Believe me, as the Green Ranger has probably already said, you had better hope that you never find out," he replies cryptically. "Right now, concentrate on the curse afflicting you. It's not going to be easy to defeat Tommy."_

"_I know but..." I begin. The White Ranger turns instantly as we both hear a howl in the distance._

"_They're coming. There's no time for any further chat now, Tommy," he states simply. "It's time for you to go. You've just got to get out of the forest, cross the stream and climb the mountain to reach the curse. I'll hold them off!"_

_I nod. I know that there's no sense in arguing with him as I don't want to be here when the creatures arrive. Then, after a moment of pause, I take off again. After a few minutes, I can hear the White Ranger yell a battle cry whilst, I assume, he attempts to hold off the shadowy creatures._

"_Thank you," I murmur under my breath as I continue onwards. With each step, I know that I'm getting closer to the mountain. And the curse._

_I only hope, though, that I'll manage to reach the mountain before it's too late._

_Dreamworld, Treacherous Stream_

_When I come to the stream, I don't hesitate to attempt to cross it. However, I misjudge the depth and, instantly, I fall deep under the water. I attempt to struggle to the surface without success but, after a few seconds, I feel someone seize my arm and pull me out of the water. _

"_You should be more careful," a voice says reassuringly as I take a deep breath. It takes me a few moments to see who had rescued me but, when I do, I smile._

"_Thank you. I should've known that you'd be present as well," I reply as my rescuer, the Red Zeo Ranger, hauls me onto the bank at the bottom of the mountain. _

"_We're all here, Tommy," the Red Zeo Ranger replies._

"_I doubt that I can keep running for much longer," I admit as I take a deep breath. "Can I just rest for a moment?"_

"_No. You haven't got much time left, Tommy. You need to get up the mountain before the curse gets too powerful," he says firmly. "If you don't conquer this curse, your life may end."_

_I nod as the howls begin again. _

"_Ah, they're coming after you. It's time for you to go, now," the Red Zeo Ranger warns. "The curse waits for you at the top of the mountain and another one of us waits to guide you there. I'll hold them off to buy you some time."_

_With a sigh, I take off again. As soon as I reach the bottom of the mountain, the Black Dino Ranger appears out of nowhere, grabs me and hauls me up onto the mountain track._

"_We can't stay here and we can't talk now. Come quickly," he hisses. I nod and we start the long difficult trek up the mountain together. _

_Dreamworld, Sinister Mountain_

"_How much further until we get to the top?" I ask. _

"_It takes as long as it takes," the Black Dino Ranger replies simply. "But it's safe for us to talk now."_

"_Why are all of you here?" I ask. _

"_I'm sure that they've all told you why already," he replies. "We are, of course, a significant part of you Tommy. When the curse brought you here, it brought us as well because we're so strongly connected to you. We can't destroy the __curse, as that's your task, but we can help you reach it."_

_I nod as we continue to climb up the mountain. He pauses as we hear howls again._

"_You must go on alone from here," the Black Dino Ranger sighs. "I must warn you that you'll be at a serious disadvantage against the curse in your weakened state. You have not got a great deal of time left but I'll hold off those shadowy creatures to give you enough time to get to the top of the mountain."_

"_Thank you," I smile._

_He shrugs and begins to go back down the mountain. However, before he can go, the Black Dino Ranger turns back to me as he remembers something else that he wants to tell me._

"_Don't forget that everyone's depending on you to conquer this curse. You're the only one who knows the override passwords to stop them from being trapped in the Brachiozord," he reminds me._

_I nod. Then, without another word, he leaves and I continue up the mountain._

He's right. I've got to defeat the curse as they're depending on me. _I think as I climb. _And I've got an apology that I promised to make to Kimberly.

_Dreamworld, Foggy Mountaintop_

"_So you've finally come," the curse growls as I finally reach the mountaintop. The curse has manifested itself as an eerie shadow copy of myself. _

"_So you're the curse," I reply as I get into a fighting stance. The curse laughs maniacally._

"_Do you really think that you can conquer me?" the curse asks. "By harming me, you'll harm yourself. Remember, I'm now so powerful that I'm as much a part of you as those four fools who helped you to get here."_

"_I don't care, I won't give up," I reply as I attack valiantly. The curse doesn't even attempt to fight back as I strike it hard in the chest and, almost instantly, I feel a sharp pain in my chest. I stumble back from it._

_The curse takes advantage of the fact that I can't strike back and knocks me to the ground. Before I can get back up, it put its foot on my chest to stop me as it strikes me repeatedly. Eventually, after taking a good beating, I suddenly feel extremely weak. The curse doesn't seem affected by these blows at all although it should be._

"_I've won," the curse states simply._

"_No, I'm not giving up. They're depending on me..." I begin before the curse strikes me again. I gasp as I feel my eyes going together because of the extensive pain I'm in. Then, a strange exhaustion begins to overcome me as I lie there._

"_I've won. Goodbye, Tommy Oliver," the curse smiles maniacally as my vision becomes blurry._

I've failed everyone... _I think just as everything goes black._

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, early afternoon_

_Beep... Beep... Beep..._

_Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep... _

"IRMA!" Kimberly exclaimed in panic as Tommy started to convulse rapidly.

IRMA, upon hearing Kimberly's cry, turned very pale once she had seen the heart monitor which was beeping frantically. There was only a still line on the screen now. Tommy's heart had just stopped.

At that moment, without any warning, RJ suddenly collapsed straight onto the floor.

Kimberly instantly spun round to him. "RJ!" she called in fright.


	21. Dreams Part 6: The Curse's Downfall

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Dreams Part 6: The Curse's Downfall

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, early afternoon, a few seconds later_

"Help me lift him," IRMA commanded Kimberly as she went over to RJ.

"But Tommy..." Kimberly began as she looked at Tommy as he was convulsing on the bed. RJ, barely conscious, could hear the distress in her voice.

"Can wait for a few seconds," IRMA replied calmly. "We need to get RJ off of the floor first."

Kimberly nodded and, together with IRMA, they managed to lift RJ onto the nearest bed. Then, IRMA turned her attention straight to Tommy. Kimberly, who couldn't bear to watch IRMA as she was working away on Tommy to get his heart to restart, stayed at RJ's bedside.

"RJ... can you hear me?" she asked. "You've got to wake up. I..."

However, whatever else she said was lost on RJ as he lost consciousness.

_Dreamworld, Spirit Jungle_

"_RJ... RJ... wake up!" I hear a voice command. Hesitantly, I open my eyes to find myself in the Dreamworld interpretation of the Spirit Jungle. I notice then that I'm on the Rhino Nexus._

_And that Master Mao is hanging over me._

"_Why am I back here?" I demand. "I can remember hearing the monitors beeping, then I collapsed and then..."_

"_You have been brought here by the spirits, RJ," Mao replies calmly. "The curse afflicting Tommy conquered him because he couldn't overcome it before it became too powerful for him."_

_RJ turns pale. "And that's why..."_

"_Yes. That is why his life now hangs completely in the balance and everything now depends upon you," Mao interrupts. _

"_Me..." I begin._

"_Yes, you," Mao replies. "RJ, I must warn you that Tommy's dream will be extremely twisted and dangerous to traverse because the curse conquered him."_

"_How on earth am I going to get there anyway?" I ask. Mao smiles as a shimmering golden portal appears at his side._

"_You will use this portal to get into Tommy's dream. You have not got a great deal of time left to rescue him because, now that the curse is so powerful, he has started to fade away. If he fades away completely, he will die and you will be killed because you are sharing his dream," Mao warns. "It is going to be risky, RJ."_

"_I've got no choice," RJ sighs. "Even if it's risky, Tommy's been a good friend to me over the last few days so I've got to try to rescue him."_

"_Good luck, then," Mao says as he vanishes. I take a deep breath as I stare at the portal for several moments. _

Ok, here I go... _I think as I leap into the portal._

_Dreamworld, Ruined Wastelands_

"_Wow..." I murmur as I arrive in Tommy's dream. I'm in the midst of ruined wasteland and the ground is covered in blackened patches suggesting to me that there had been fighting here recently. Behind me, the portal remains open as an escape route if anything goes wrong._

_I take another deep breath before I set off towards the mountain, which is where my instincts are telling me Tommy is, at full pace. I know that Tommy won't be able to survive for much longer so I can't afford to waste any time._

_As I run, I can only hope that I can reach him before it's just too late._

_Dreamworld, Mysterious Forest_

Wow... This place seems endless... _I think as I run. Around me, the forest seem quite dead and a mysterious fog is beginning to blanket the place._

_Then, I hear something nearby. I stop to listen to the sound more closely. _

_Howling._

_Whatever is making that noise doesn't seem friendly to me so I know that I've got to get out of here before they catch my scent and give chase. I pick up the pace._

_It doesn't make a difference, though. Before I can even run a few metres, they appear from the forest around me._

_The shadowy creatures. I gulp. I had heard many legends in the Pai Zhua Academy about them and their skills. They were meant to go after the most powerful forces of good during their final moments to harvest their energy to spawn great evils. Before, I had dismissed them as myths that couldn't exist. Now, though, with the evidence in front of me to prove their existence, I believe the Pai Zhua legends completely._

_As one attacks, I attempt to put up a good fight. However, I fail miserably because I'm hopelessly outnumbered and they're just too powerful. As they dive towards me to finish the job, I know what I must do._

_I dodge their attack before I flee deeper into the forest with the shadowy creatures in close pursuit. I know that Tommy's time must be desperately running out but I only hope that I can reach him before the shadowy creatures do._

_Dreamworld, Treacherous Stream_

_When I reach the stream, I instantly leap into the water and swim across to the other bank. It's not long before the shadowy creatures appear behind me but, if there's one thing that they don't like, it's water so they pace endlessly on the other bank for a few moments before they race away upstream._

_I know that they're probably heading to a safer place to cross the stream so I don't stop. As soon as I reach the other bank, I get out of the water, quickly shake myself dry and begin to climb the mountain at full pace._

_Dreamworld, Sinister Mountain _

I can't keep running at this pace... _I think as I stop halfway up the mountain and look around. I'm completely exhausted by my efforts and, since I can't see any of the shadowy creatures, I decide to take a moment to rest. _

_I take several deep breaths as I sit down for a moment. As far as I'm concerned, the shadowy creatures are probably still trying to cross the stream so I can afford to rest for a few moments. Besides, I'm not going to be able to fight the curse in the state that I'm in right now._

Just hold on for another few moments, Tommy. I'm... _I think. Then, the full weight of one of the shadowy creatures hits me from behind. I must have missed it when I'd taken a look around._

_We tumble down the mountain as we're locked in a desperate struggle. I try desperately to get the shadowy creature off of me whilst it tries desperately to reach my throat. At the same time, we're both trying to defend ourselves from each other. _

_Eventually, it finally overwhelms me. As it holds me by the throat, my entire life flashes before my eyes but, before it can deal the finishing blow, the Wolf spirit within me reacts and bursts forth to protect me._

_It knocks the shadowy creature away and, to my amazement, easily finishes it off as if it's nothing dangerous at all. Then, it vanishes. After my Wolf spirit has gone, I stand, frozen to the spot, for another few moments as I can't quite believe what I have just seen. _

_However, I quickly snap out of my shock and resume the climb up the mountain. For now, pondering about what I had just seen could wait. Tommy needs my help and I know that his time is still running out._

_Dreamworld, Foggy Mountaintop_

"_No!" I cry out as I reach the top of the mountain and watch as the curse stands over Tommy with a shadowy sword. My cry distracts the curse from Tommy which gives me time to get the curse away from Tommy by forcing it to retreat through a powerful punch. However, I hear Tommy gasp in air as I strike and, when I look, I'm amazed by what I see._

_As the last scraps of his life are drained away by the curse, Tommy is beginning to become transparent. Soon, he'll disappear forever and I know that I've got to stop the curse before it's too late. However, it's then that I notice that Tommy is covered in fresh bruises over the spot where I had just hit the curse. It takes me a few moments to realise what had happened before I feel horrified about what I've done._

"_Now, you understand just as he did," the curse mocks. "You can't harm me without harming him which makes any attempts to put up any fight against me completely fruitless."_

"_No! I won't let you win. Tommy's my friend and, since he can't do it for himself right now, I'll defend him with my life if I have to," I growl as I get into a fighting stance. "He's taught me to start to trust myself again by trusting in my ability. I'm going to repay that favour by stopping you."_

"_Every blow that you land on me, will only make his destruction quicker," the curse laughs. "Surely you won't risk it?"_

_I pause for a moment. I know that the curse is right but I know also, from experience, that there has to be another way of defeating the curse that won't mean Tommy's destruction. I've just got to find it._

_It's then that I notice the curse's similarity to the shadowy creatures and I have an idea._

"_Call to the spirit within, unleash the Wolf!" I call as I quickly go through the stances of the Wolf. Seconds later, the Wolf bursts forth from my hands and strikes at the curse. It howls in agony as it's badly injured but, crucially, Tommy doesn't even react. _

I've found the weakness. It may be linked to Tommy physically but it isn't linked to him spiritually as Tommy would have reacted if it was. Now, to destroy this curse for good. _I think as I smile._

"_It seems that there is one way to cause your downfall," I smile. "And I intend to use it."_

_With that, I leap into the air and use my morpher on my wrist to unleash my finishing move._

"_Wolf Beam!" I call as purple beams of light shoot out of my morpher. As they strike the curse, they cause a massive explosion of light which I'm forced to turn away from. When it finally subsides, the curse is gone._

_Instantly, I rush to Tommy's side. He's still fading away and I can't understand why. The curse is gone so he should be returning to normal now yet he isn't._

"_Tommy... Tommy..." I say as I shake him. He doesn't reply. I grimace._

_For a moment, I'm unsure of what to do. Then, I know that I've got to get him back to the Spirit Jungle. _

Perhaps Mao might be able to help him. _I think. _Perhaps he won't, though.

_However, I know that I've got to at least try. I lift Tommy into my arms and then proceed, as fast as I can, to return to the portal._

_Dreamworld, Spirit Jungle_

_As soon as I bring Tommy through into the Spirit Jungle, Mao appears._

"_Put him down, RJ," Mao commands. "He has almost gone too far to be saved but I just might be able to restore him."_

_I put Tommy down in the centre of the Nexus and quickly step back to allow Mao some room to work. After a few seconds of intense concentration, a beam of white light shoots out from Mao into Tommy. Tommy gasps in another breath but there's no difference in his condition. He's still becoming more and more transparent as every second passes._

_Mao sighs and tries again but, even after a more powerful second attempt, there's still no difference in Tommy's condition._

"_I am sorry, RJ, but there is nothing that I can do for him now," Mao says as he looks away._

_I instantly grow very frustrated and angry. "Surely there's something you can do?" I demand._

"_There is nothing I can do now, RJ," Mao insists. "He is just too far gone. I am sorry, RJ."_

"_No! There's got to be something!" I exclaim in frustration. "There's..."_

_However, before I can finish, a beam of powerful purple light bursts forth from my Wolf Morpher. I watch, in awe, as the light hits Tommy and instantly restores him to normal. As he stirs, Mao, with an expression of surprise on his face, vanishes. I don't hesitate as I go straight to Tommy's side._

"_Tommy... Tommy... wake up, man," I urge._

_Tommy groans. "RJ? Tell me that I'm not hearing things. It's really you, isn't it?" he asks._

_I smile as I lay a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'm really here. And, I can assure you, you're not just dreaming my presence," I assure him. _

"_How did you get here?" Tommy asks as he opens his eyes. I help him slowly to his feet as I smile again. _

"_The spirits brought me here to rescue you from the curse, my friend," I reply simply. _

"_I feel a little strange. What happened to the curse? Where are we now?" Tommy asks as he looks around and takes a moment to adjust to his surroundings._

"_It was quite difficult but I managed to destroy the curse so you don't have to worry about it any more," I assure him. "We're in the Spirit Jungle right now."_

"_I was dying..." Tommy murmurs after another few moments. "I heard you shouting at someone in anger..."_

_I turn away. I'm surprised that he was even barely aware of what was going on around him. "Yes, you were dying. You heard me whilst I was arguing with Master Mao because he couldn't save you..." I begin._

"_Wait a minute, if Mao didn't restore me, who did?" Tommy interrupts._

"_I did. I became really angry and frustrated with Mao, and myself, that we couldn't do anything for you. Then, without __any warning, a beam of purple light erupted from my morpher and restored you," RJ replied simply. _

_Tommy nods and smiles. "Thanks, RJ. I'd probably be dead right now if you hadn't destroyed the curse."_

_I nod. Then, I suddenly notice that our surroundings are beginning to fade away._

"_Tommy, what exactly was the override password anyway?" I ask quickly. Tommy smiles._

"_Let me tell you something, RJ," he replies simply. "I'm an adopted child. The Olivers adopted me when I was very young and, in turn, I adopted their surname. The override password is my original surname, Trueheart."_

_I nod. Before I can say anything, the dream vanishes._

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, early afternoon, another few seconds later_

RJ gasped in air as he awoke from his unconsciousness. As everyone started to turn to him, they stopped in the middle of their stride as another noise reached their ears.

_Beep... Beep... Beep..._

"Tommy!" Kimberly exclaimed as she turned back instead to him. His heart had just restarted.

RJ sighed in relief as IRMA checked over Tommy. He had drastically improved over the last few seconds and seemed more peaceful as he lay there in his unconsciousness.

"If I believed in miracles then I would almost certainly say that this was one," IRMA said simply.

RJ smiled at this as Kimberly went back to Tommy's side. Whilst IRMA and Kimberly were at Tommy's bedside, he slipped off the bed that they had put him on. Then, he crept over to the computer. Once he had used the keyboard to type in the override password, he hit the enter key.

Seconds later, a message appeared on-screen confirming acceptance of the override password and RJ was taken straight to a menu screen.

"What are you up to?" Kimberly asked as she came over. She was stunned when she saw that he had broken through the lockdown. "How did you..."

"I'll tell you later," RJ replied with a smile as he cleverly began to restore a communication link with the main Command Centre. He knew that the intruder was likely to be trapped in the Brachiozord as well so he knew that he couldn't afford to lift the lockdown or restore any other computer terminal in case it helped the intruder in any way to escape.

When it was confirmed that the communication link was ready, RJ clicked connect. Seconds later, the main Command Centre appeared on-screen.

It took them a few moments to register the fact that RJ had appeared on-screen but, when they did, they all instantly turned to the screen.

"RJ, thank goodness," they exclaimed almost in complete unison. "Are you all right?"

"Hi guys, we're all right over here. Did you miss us?" he asked with a wide grin.


	22. Chapter 12: Intruder Alert!

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 12: Intruder Alert!

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, early afternoon, a few minutes later_

"So what are we going to do?" Trent asked them both. For the last few minutes, he had remained quiet whilst everyone else had fired rapid questions at RJ and Kimberly but, now, he had spoken up so that everyone's focus returned to what was most important. Their plan of action.

RJ sat back as he shrugged. "Give me a minute," he replied as he began typing various commands into the computer in an attempt to see if he could lift the lockdown partially. However, nothing at all worked. "It seems that we can't remove the lockdown. We might still be trapped in here, guys."

There were general groans of frustration from the Rangers trapped in the main Command Centre.

"I can't believe this!" Scott exclaimed in frustration. "We're back to square one again. The override password was our only hope."

"Wait..." Kimberly said as she pointed to the screen. "RJ, what's that?"

RJ looked at where she was pointing. There was a Brachiozord shaped button and, when he hesitantly clicked on it, the full plans to the Brachiozord appeared on-screen. The plans for the Infirmary were highlighted in red and RJ instantly noticed that there was a ventilation shaft which led out into the corridor.

"RJ, what is going on?" Zordon demanded.

"We've found out that there's a ventilation shaft leading out into the corridor from the Infirmary," RJ replied calmly as he checked for any ventilation shafts into the main Command Centre. "Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be any other way out for all of you."

"It appears that the only way out for the rest of us is the intruder's destruction. You're our only hope now, RJ, as you're the only one who will be able to go after the intruder. However, you'll have to go it alone as we can't afford to leave Tommy unguarded," Billy mused.

Kimberly was about to protest when RJ shook his head at her.

"No, Billy's right. You're probably the best protection for Tommy right now anyway because you've got more experience," RJ said as he discovered that they could access the footage from the security cameras during lockdown as well. As soon as he accessed it, footage of the villain trying to hack into the system from one of the computer terminals came on-screen. Neither Kimberly or RJ could recognise the intruder so they decided that they would patch the footage through to the others in case any of them recognised him.

"Guys, we've found pictures of our intruder. We don't recognise him but, just perhaps, you might," Kimberly said as she patched through the footage. After watching it, everyone, except Kira, shook their heads to show that they didn't recognise him. However, Kira did recognise him and turned pale.

"That's Kamdor!" she burst out. Everyone turned to her as she continued. "I was once part of a mixed team who worked with another group of Rangers who had lost their powers. Even though it was only for a few days, as they regained their powers because of Alpha 6's heroic work on the Universal Morphing Grid..."

"Actually, you're referring to Alpha 7," Alpha 5 replied as he interrupted. "He's made from spare parts which once belonged to either me or Alpha 6 and, although he was originally designated Alpha 6, when the original Alpha 6 was reactivated by Dimitria of Inquiris, we decided to give him a new designation instead of returning him to the scrapheap."

"Anyway, even though it was only for a few days, as they regained their powers because of Alpha 7's heroic work on the Universal Morphing Grid, we fought all of that team's enemies. One of which was Kamdor and he had a partner, a ninja, called Miratrix," Kira replied. "And that is Kamdor there, I'm sure of it."

RJ nodded. "Well, at least we now know what he's called," he sighed.

"Be careful, RJ. When I fought him, I learned quickly that Kamdor is a dangerous and unpredictable opponent," Kira warned.

"I'll be careful," he promised. "I'm going to shut off the communication link now. I'll get back in touch when I've gotten rid of Kamdor."

Then, without another word, RJ shut off the communication link.

"So you're going after Kamdor," Kimberly said simply. "And I don't get to go with you."

"It's for the best, Kimberly. We can't afford to leave Tommy here without some form of good protection. You're the best protection he could ever have, anyway," he sighed. "Besides, he might wake up soon. I'm sure that the first person he'll want to see is you so that he can make his full apology to you."

Kimberly considered his argument for a moment before she nodded. Then, she looked to Tommy with sadness in her eyes.

"All right, you win. Just go before I change my mind, though," she sighed. RJ nodded, located the ventilation shaft and then smiled.

"IRMA, could you close this grille behind me?" he asked. IRMA, who had been quiet for the last few minutes as she had attended to Tommy, nodded in reply.

"I'll do it. Now, you must get out of here," she commanded. He grinned.

"Yes ma'am," he replied as he opened the shaft, climbed up into it and began to make his along it towards the nearest grille. Behind him, IRMA closed the shaft and he smiled.

At least, if anything happened to him, they would be safe. Tommy would certainly kill RJ if he let anything happen to Kimberly whilst he was out cold.

When he finally reached the other grille, RJ kicked it open and leapt down into the corridor. Then, he shut the grille behind him and, after a moment of pause, he headed off to look for Kamdor.

Wherever Kamdor was in the Brachiozord, RJ would find him no matter how long it took. RJ only hoped, though, that he found him before he caused any more damage.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, in the corridor just outside Dino Thunder base, early afternoon, at that very moment_

As Kamdor passed the Dino Thunder base, it was the fact that Cassidy and Devin were being extremely quiet which saved them both. Like every room he had passed so far, Kamdor assumed it was empty because it was so quiet. Besides, he had no time to investigate all of the rooms. He was looking for an escape route so that he could flee the Brachiozord before his time ran out. It was only a matter of time before the Power Rangers found him and he knew that, when they did, he would be in a lot of trouble.

As he turned into another corridor, he didn't notice that his sword, like it had been doing every time he'd turned a corner so far, had left a big scrape in the corner of the wall. If he had, Kamdor might have realised that he was leading the Rangers right to himself...

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zord Construction Bay, early afternoon, also at that very moment_

"K.! I think that we've done it!" the leader of the first group of technicians exclaimed as the Pterodactyl Dinozord came on-line.

Dr K., from the platform she was still standing on, turned sharply to look at the technicians and the Pterodactyl Dinozord.

"I'm coming straight over!" she exclaimed as she leapt off the platform and ran straight to where they were working on the Pterodactyl Dinozord. Then, whilst everyone else was watching intently, she ran the diagnostic checks to confirm that they had indeed completed the Pterodactyl Dinozord.

When Dr K. was finished, everyone was waiting in anticipation of her confirmation as she returned to her platform.

After a few moments of silence, she smiled. "As it is the smallest of the Zords, it has not taken them very long to complete. I can confirm that the first team has indeed completed the Pterodactyl Dinozord."

There were cheers at this but Dr K. quickly silenced them.

"We can party later when we've gotten the other Zords working. Until then, get back to work," she snapped. "First team, I want you to help Anton Mercer, Tenaya 15 and the fourth team."

There were a few slight groans but everyone quickly obeyed her commands. If they had learned anything over the last day, it was that Dr K. should never be messed with and that, if you annoyed her, you would soon regret it.

_Outside Corinth City, Outside the Brachiozord Command Centre, early afternoon, also at that very moment_

As the chants of "The Rangers bring us evil!", "People Power! Not Ranger Power!" and "Down with the Rangers!" filled Mira Tricks's ears, she smiled.

Everything was going exactly to plan.

_Come on... _she thought. She was waiting for something to happen and, if it happened the way they had planned, it would mean the end of the Rangers in Corinth forever which would leave the city open for her and Kamdor to conquer.

However, things rarely ever turned out exactly as you had planned. Even if you were Mira Tricks...

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early afternoon_

"I'm bored," Ziggy complained. "How long are we going to be trapped in here for?"

"We'll be here for as long as it takes," Jason replied. "Until then, try not to be too irritating, Ziggy."

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, somewhere in the corridors, early afternoon_

"Where is he?" RJ wondered aloud as he stopped to look around. There was still no sign of Kamdor anywhere and he had been searching for quite a while now.

As he continued on again, he sighed. It was obvious that this search was going to take longer than he had originally thought.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, somewhere in the corridors, early afternoon_

_There's got to be another exit somewhere. _Kamdor thought as he continued on down another corridor. _There's just got to be._

However, there was still no sign of one. Kamdor was starting to get frustrated. He knew that his time was running out. If he didn't get out of there soon, he knew that the Power Rangers would catch up with him. He certainly didn't want to think about what would happen when they did.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, early afternoon_

"Anything, dear?" IRMA asked Kimberly as she attended to Tommy. Kimberly shook her head.

"There's still no sign of Kamdor anywhere right now. However, Mira Tricks and her Anti-Ranger protest group are still out there and they seem to be waiting for something," Kimberly replied.

IRMA nodded. "Let's hope that the lockdown is lifted before what they're waiting for comes to pass then."

"And let's hope that Tommy wakes up by then as well. He was always quite good at controlling a crowd," Kimberly added with a smile. IRMA nodded.

"With that mob out there, I certainly think that we'll need his skills," IRMA agreed.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, in the corridor just outside Dino Thunder base, mid-afternoon_

When RJ chanced upon the scrapes in the corner of the wall, he smiled. He had just found Kamdor's trail so it wouldn't take him too long to find the villain now. However, he only hoped that he could find Kamdor before Kamdor found a way to escape.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Main Lab, mid-afternoon_

"Yes!" Hayley exclaimed as the last of the RPM Morphers came back on-line. She had made a few modifications by changing around a few of the circuitries and, now, she was sure that they would be even more powerful than they had been before.

_Just wait until the RPM Power Rangers see their morphers and the modifications to them... _she thought as she spotted the Time Pulse lying on the nearby counter as she put the last RPM morpher, Gemma's Cloud Hatchet, onto the tray. _Hold on, what's this?_

She went over to the Time Pulse and picked it up to examine it. After a few moments, she also found Alpha 5's notes on the device. She read them through before she decided that she would take a look at it.

_Perhaps, I might be able to find out what the problem is. _she thought. _This Time Pulse will be the key to summoning the Rangers of the future back to the past so we need to get it working before it's too late._

Little did Hayley realise at that moment that the Time Pulse would quickly become part of her greatest achievements as she started to work upon it.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, mid-afternoon_

As Tommy groaned, both Kimberly and IRMA rushed to his bedside. After a few moments more, he began to stir before he opened his eyes. Without thinking, Kimberly threw her arms around him and buried her head upon his chest. Although he was startled by her behaviour, he put one arm around her and held her close.

"Oh, Tommy, I was so worried. I didn't think..." she began.

"Neither did I. You can thank RJ for my survival," Tommy replied grimly.

"What?" IRMA exclaimed.

"He didn't tell you?" Tommy asked before he blinked. "Wow, RJ is really modest..."

He then felt really dizzy again and Kimberly looked up, startled, at him when his hand slipped from her back. He sighed again.

"It seems that I haven't recovered enough yet," he said grimly with a faint smile before his expression turned serious. "Kimberly... you've got to go into my trouser pocket and find the Dragon Power Coin. Take it to Jason in the main Command Centre as he's the only one who can dare to wield its power. Although it isn't on the plans, there's a secret ventilation shaft which goes into the main Command Centre. It's right next to the door, behind the panel to the right, but you'll need the override password to get into it."

"But what is the override password? RJ never told anyone it," Kimberly asked.

Tommy leaned forward and, just before he dropped into unconsciousness, he whispered the override password into her ear.

It took Kimberly a few moments to untangle herself from Tommy and, once she did, she searched Tommy's pocket for the Dragon Power Coin. When she found it, she looked to IRMA.

"Go on, dear," IRMA urged with a smile. "I'll look after Tommy. Nothing will happen to him whilst you're gone."

Kimberly nodded. "Thanks, IRMA. Please remember to shut the grille behind me as we don't want Kamdor to come across you and Tommy in here."

Then, without another word, Kimberly opened the grille and climbed up into the ventilation shaft. As she made her way to the other grille, she could hear IRMA close the grille behind her. When she arrived at the grille, she kicked it open and dropped into the corridor.

Finally, after taking a moment to shut the grille behind her, she began to make her way up to the main Command Centre with the Dragon Power Coin in hand. She only hoped that she would get to Jason before it was too late.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, in the corridor outside the Space Zord hangar, mid-afternoon_

"I've found you at last, Kamdor," RJ growled as he finally caught up with Kamdor just outside the empty Space Zord hangar. "There's no escape!"

"We'll see," Kamdor replied as he held his sword at the ready. "Give it your best shot."

RJ grimaced. This battle wasn't going to be easy at all and he knew that he would need more than his Pai Zhua training to defeat this villain. He activated his Wolf Morpher.

"If you want a fight then it's a fight that you'll get," RJ replied as he began to go through the stances. "Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!"

Then, he morphed and charged. Within minutes, both he and Kamdor were locked in a deadly struggle in the confined space of the corridor. He knew that everyone was depending upon him to best Kamdor so RJ only hoped that he defeated Kamdor quickly since he didn't let the others down.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, in the corridor outside the main Command Centre, mid-afternoon, at that very moment_

When Kimberly arrived at the door to the main Command Centre, she instantly went to the panel to her right and began to attempt to pry it open. It took her a few minutes to get it open but, when she did, she let out a cry of relief. Behind the panel was a hidden door but, to open it, she had to use the override password.

After Kimberly had typed the override password in and pressed the enter button, the door slid open. Hesitantly, she peered into the shaft and found that it would be quite difficult to get through because of its extremely bendy shape. However, she knew that she had to at least try to get into the main Command Centre so she slid into the shaft and began to make the difficult journey up the shaft.

When she finally squirmed up into the main part of the shaft, she didn't realise that the grille was right at the top. When she put her full weight onto it, as she began to crawl along the easiest part of the shaft, it gave way and she fell through into the main Command Centre.

Fortunately, Jason had heard the grille as it gave way and he managed to catch her before she badly hurt herself.

"I've got you," Jason smiled. "It's nice of you to drop in."

Kimberly sighed as she got back onto her feet. "Thanks."

"How did you get in here anyway?" Dillon asked.

"There's a hidden ventilation shaft up there. Tommy told me about it because he sent me up here with this," she replied as she put the Dragon Power Coin into Jason's hands.

"He can't be serious..." Jason began.

"He is, Jason. The Dragonzord is the most powerful of all the Zords currently not disabled and available to us," Zordon replied calmly. "And, until Tommy recovers, someone will need to pilot it. You are the only one here who has had a connection to the Dragon Power Coin. You are the only one here who knows about just how powerful it is. It has to be you."

Jason sighed. "I'll do it."

"We've got to go help RJ, Jason," Kimberly said after a few moments. "He's probably found Kamdor by now and he'll probably need all the help that he can get right now."

"We can all go," Scott said. Gem and Gemma grew excited at this.

"No," Zordon said calmly. "The Original Rangers will go alone. I am going to need bodyguards here."

"But..." Gem and Gemma began.

"He's right, guys," Dominic replied simply. "You haven't got your morphers or your Zords so you won't be any use in battle right now. However, you will be good bodyguards for Zordon. As for Trent, Kira and I, we'll wait until the lockdown has been removed before we join the fight."

Jason nodded as Gem and Gemma pouted. "That would be sensible," he agreed. "Besides, we're going to need a lift to get up into the shaft anyway. You're all pretty strong guys so you should be able to handle our weight for a few seconds."

The RPM Rangers grimaced before they nodded whilst Trent and Dominic just shrugged.

"Who wants to go first?" Dominic asked as he and Trent got into position.

"I'll go," Kimberly said. "I know which way I'm going so it would be best that I get up there to point everyone in the right direction."

Trent and Dominic nodded. Then, together, they helped Kimberly into the shaft. She sat at the wrong side so that she could direct the others down the bendy shaft. Trini was the next one who they helped up and Kimberly directed her to make her way down the bendy shaft.

"You can't be serious!" Trini exclaimed as she began to struggle down the shaft.

"It's probably one of Tommy's clever ideas," Kimberly replied. "No villain, if they ever discovered the shaft, would want to try to get up it because it is so dangerous."

At that moment, Billy was helped up into the shaft. He grimaced when he saw the bendy shaft.

"Ah, one of Tommy's clever ideas, I assume?" he said. "It's quite ingenious."

"Be careful, Billy, I found it really difficult to climb up that bendy shaft," Kimberly warned. Billy nodded.

"I'll be careful," he promised as he dropped down the shaft after Trini. Next, came Zack.

"Oh well, if it's the price that I've got to pay to get away from Ziggy then I'll take it. Who knew that one person could be so annoying at times?" Zack grinned.

"Hey! I heard that," Ziggy called as Zack disappeared down the shaft.

"Don't worry, Ziggy. Zack is quite annoying at times as well," Jason reassured as Dominic and Trent, who were tired by the point, struggled to lift Jason up to the shaft. Eventually, after a few attempts, Jason managed to reach the edge of the shaft and hauled himself up. He closed the grille behind himself and held the grille in place until Kimberly had crossed it.

"Ladies first," Jason smiled.

"Don't get any ideas, Jason. This shaft is difficult to traverse," she warned as she slipped down the shaft.

It took all of them a few minutes to get out of the shaft but, once they did, they calmly shut the shaft and replaced the panel.

"Come on, we've got to find RJ. He's going to need our help," Jason grimaced.

An idea suddenly popped into Kimberly's head. "You guys go on ahead. I've got to go deal with something," she said aloud. They turned to her.

"Are you sure?" Trini asked. Kimberly nodded.

"Yes, trust me," she replied. Jason nodded.

"All right, you go do what you have to do. We'll find RJ," Jason replied.

Then, without another word, they went their separate ways. Kimberly went one way whilst Jason and the others went the other. As they ran, they only hoped that they weren't already too late.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, in the corridor outside the Space Zord hangar, mid-afternoon, several minutes later_

"Wolf Beam!" RJ called as beams of purple light flew out from his morpher. Kamdor dodged and the beams hit the door that led into the Space Zord hangar instead. RJ groaned as Kamdor smiled.

RJ had just played right into Kamdor's hands and he knew it. He had just provided Kamdor with an escape route and, now, it would only get more difficult to stop him.

As Kamdor dived through into the Space Zord hangar, RJ followed in pursuit. He couldn't just let Kamdor escape as he now had knowledge of the some of the Brachiozord defences and, with that knowledge, who knew what destruction he could cause.

However, because RJ was so focused on stopping Kamdor, he made a fatal mistake. His attack went just a little too far towards Kamdor's head and Kamdor reacted by grabbing his hand, twisting his arm behind his back and placing the sword at his neck. RJ took a deep shaky breath as Kamdor smiled.

"Now, Ranger, you're going to open this hangar door for me or I'm going to use this shiny sword at your neck," he hissed.

RJ gulped. He knew that he had no choice but to obey Kamdor otherwise he would be killed so, when Kamdor asked where the controls were, RJ pointed to the big red button. Then, Kamdor dragged him over and hit the button. As the hangar doors began to open, Jason, Zack, Trini and Billy entered.

"RJ!" Jason called. Kamdor looked up and his grip on RJ tightened.

"No one move!" Kamdor snapped. "Well, Ranger, this is an interesting development indeed. How would you like your friends to watch you die?"

Without any warning, Kamdor tossed RJ out of the hangar door.

"No! RJ!" they exclaimed.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zord Construction Bay, mid-afternoon, several minutes ago_

When Kimberly had fallen through the grille after going through another ventilation shaft to get the Zord Construction Bay, she had given the technicians quite a fright. However, she was caught this time before she hurt herself by Anton Mercer. He smiled at her as he gently lowered her onto her feet again.

"Is this a habit of yours?" he asked.

She smiled. "It's the second time that this has happened today. Thanks," she said.

Dr K. came rushing over at that moment. "Ranger Pink..."

"It's Kimberly," Kimberly smiled.

"I am curious to know about what has been going on this afternoon," Dr K. said. "By any chance would you have a good explanation for us being locked in here?"

"Yes. There's no time to explain it right now, though," she replied. "I need my Pterodactyl Dinozord. Is it finished?"

"Yes," Anton replied as he revealed it from under a white cloth nearby. "Tenaya 15, open the bay door!"

Tenaya 15 nodded. Then, she went to the red button and hit it. Seconds later, the bay door opened.

"Everyone scatter!" Anton warned. "Give the Ranger some room to take the Pterodactyl Dinozord out for a spin."

All teams of technicians quickly made their way to the opposite walls of the Zord Construction Bay so that they were as far away from the Pterodactyl Dinozord as possible.

"I've just got one question before I go. Are the thunder receptors in place?" Kimberly asked as she turned to Dr K.. Dr K. nodded.

"Although we had no idea what they were for, we did fit the thunder receptors," she confirmed.

"Well you're about to find out," Kimberly smiled as she took out her Pterodactyl Power Coin. "I must warn you to stand back. It could get quite dangerous over here."

Dr K. and Anton Mercer nodded before they too got as far as they could away from the Pterodactyl Dinozord and Kimberly.

"Here goes nothing," she murmured as she held her power coin out. "Pterodactyl!" she called as she activated the power coin. Seconds later, she morphed.

Then, she took a deep breath. "This might be the riskiest thing that I've ever done. Pterodactyl Firebird Thunderzord Power!" she called.

Her call resulted in storm clouds gathering overhead and, seconds later, there was a massive explosion of sound and light as lightning managed to strike the Pterodactyl Dinozord. The light was so bright that she had to turn away from her Zord to prevent herself from being blinded whilst the sound it caused was so deafening that everyone had to cover their ears.

When the light and sound subsided, the Firebird Thunderzord stood in place of the Pterodactyl Dinozord and Kimberly smiled.

"Yes!" she exclaimed as she leapt up into the cockpit. "Thanks, guys, you've rebuilt this beautifully!"

Then, she left the stunned technicians behind as she activated the Zord controls for the Firebird Thunderzord and sped off into the sky.

_Outside Corinth City, Outside the Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-afternoon, current time_

As RJ was falling, he knew that there was no escape from this. Below him, the media and the protesters were watching anxiously to see what would happen. Many of them had turned away as they felt unable to watch.

However, RJ couldn't quite believe it when he was caught, by Kimberly, several seconds later. There were a few cheers at this and Kimberly, who was holding RJ tightly in her arms, smiled.

"Did somebody call for a rescue?" she asked with a smile.

RJ couldn't help but laugh with relief. "Thanks, Kimberly. I owe you one."

"You saved Tommy so you don't owe me anything. Consider this a thank you," she smiled. "Come on, we'd better get back into the cockpit."

Then, without another word, she helped him into the cockpit and the Firebird Thunderzord flew off into the distance so that it could return to help the other Original Rangers as they began to battle Kamdor.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Space Zord hangar, late afternoon_

"Go Kimberly!" Jason exclaimed triumphantly as he watched. "You're done for now, Kamdor."

"Ready?" he asked a few minutes later as he pulled out his Tyrannosaurus Power Coin. Billy, Zack and Trini, who had also pulled out their Power Coins, nodded.

"Ready," they agreed.

"It's Morphin' Time!" Jason called as he activated his power coin. "Tyrannosaurus!"

"Mastodon!" Zack called as he activated his power coin.

"Triceratops!" Billy called as he activated his power coin.

"Sabertoothed Tiger!" Trini finished as she activated her power coin.

They morphed. Then, they charged. Before Kamdor could escape, they had his escape route blocked off. If he wanted to escape, he would have to go through them first.

"Power Sword!" Jason called as he summoned his weapon and parried several of Kamdor's blows.

"Power Lance!" Billy called as he summoned his weapon and attacked Kamdor from one side.

"Power Daggers!" Trini called. Then, she struck Kamdor in the back whilst he was trying to fend off Billy and Jason.

"Power Axe!" Zack called finally as he struck Kamdor in the side whilst Kamdor was trying to get rid of Trini.

"Out of the way!" Kimberly exclaimed as the Firebird Thunderzord rapidly hurtled towards the Space Zord hangar. RJ was in control and Kimberly was on its back. She had the Power Bow in one hand and was ready to fire. As the Original Rangers got out the way, Kimberly fired before Kamdor could escape and destroyed him. Then, the Firebird Thunderzord veered rapidly upwards so that it wouldn't crash into the Brachiozord Command Centre head on.

"Yes!" all of the Original Rangers, except from Billy, exclaimed. "We did it."

However, Billy knew otherwise.

"Guys..." he began slowly as he pointed out of the hangar door which was beginning to close. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. Look!"

Just before it closed shut, they could see Kamdor grow to full size. They groaned.

"Why do the monsters always have to come back stronger and meaner each time?" Trini demanded.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late afternoon, at that very moment_

"Ai, Ai, Ai!" Alpha exclaimed as the door opened and the system was restored. "The system lockdown has been deactivated as the threat has been removed. We're back in business!"

Dominic and Trent instantly looked to Zordon for permission. Zordon smiled.

"Go, Rangers," he commanded.

Dominic and Trent smiled at this. "Thanks, Zordon."

With that, they both fled the main Command Centre.

"What about us?" the RPM Power Rangers demanded.

"You are still without your powers. You can stay here," Zordon said firmly.

Kira sighed. "We miss out on all the fun sometimes," she lamented.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, late afternoon, also at that very moment_

When Tommy woke, IRMA rushed to his bedside.

"How are you feeling?" IRMA asked with concern.

"I'm fine, now, IRMA," Tommy said as the Brachiozord trembled. He grimaced. "The others?"

"They're probably fighting our intruder, Kamdor, right now," IRMA said grimly. Tommy turned pale.

"They'll need my help. There's no way that they'll be able to battle Kamdor alone without some of the fire power at my disposal," Tommy exclaimed. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins, masking his exhaustion, as he jumped off of the bed and nearly ran right out of the room. If it weren't for IRMA, who had grabbed his arm to stop him, he would have left right away.

"Let me go, IRMA," Tommy exclaimed as he struggled to break free of her grip.

"You need to rest, Tommy," IRMA warned.

"I'll be all right, IRMA. Besides, I'm only going to be piloting Zords anyway and that doesn't require much effort," Tommy assured.

She sighed. She could see that she wasn't going to win this argument anyway so she decided that it would be better to quit whilst she was ahead.

"All right but you had better report back to me later on today for a check-up. However, I warn you that, if I deem you unfit for action, you'll be spending a few days in my company here in the infirmary," she said as she let go of his arm.

Tommy smiled. "I'll be back before the end of the night," he promised. "Thanks, IRMA."

Then, he rushed out of infirmary without another word.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Dinozord hangar, late afternoon_

"I'm drawing a lot of fire," Kimberly called through the communication link. "You've got to get out here quickly, Jason."

Jason nodded as he opened the hangar door. The other Original Rangers were all standing to one side, powered down like he was, and they were all grim.

"If only we had our Zords..." Billy mused.

"I want a piece of the action," Trini complained.

"Trust me, you don't," Jason replied as he took out the Dragon Power Coin. "Wish me luck, guys."

Then, he closed his eyes. "Dragonzord!" he called. Seconds later, he had taken on the form of the Green Ranger.

"Jason, I'm initiating Dragonzord release. I advise you to start playing the Dragon Dagger now," Alpha called through another communication link.

"Right, Alpha. Kimberly, when the Dragonzord is released, you go back inside. I'll deal with Kamdor," Jason commanded as he began to play the haunting tune on the Dragon Dagger. Within seconds, the clamps that held the Dragonzord in the Dinozord hangar were released and the Dragonzord, upon hearing the music, began to make its way across the hangar to Jason. As soon as it reached Jason, he jumped on it's back and commanded it to attack Kamdor.

Instantly, the Dragonzord rushed at Kamdor and, whilst it distracted him, the Firebird Thunderzord slipped back into the Dinozord hangar before the hangar door closed. Then, the Dragonzord and Kamdor became locked in a deadly struggle. They were both evenly matched but neither of them realised that the odds would soon be disrupted by one of Mira Tricks's tricks.

_Outside Corinth City, Outside Brachiozord Command Centre, late afternoon, a few minutes later _

When the first explosion went off, Jason turned sharply to watch the ball of fire which erupted around the Brachiozord's legs. Then, he watched in horror as the Brachiozord reared towards Mira Tricks and her Anti-Ranger protest group.

"No!" he exclaimed.

Out of nowhere, the Falconzord suddenly appeared and hooked its claws tightly to the Brachiozord's neck. Then, with great difficulty, the Falconzord managed to steer the Brachiozord to one side which forced it to miss the people. All but Mira Tricks had an expression of intense relief on their faces.

Mira Tricks, however, was scowling in disbelief.

"Tommy!" Jason exclaimed in relief.

"Hey, bro. Do you need a hand?" Tommy asked with a smile as he jumped out of the cockpit onto the wings of the Falconzord. He was already morphed into the form of the White Ranger. The Falconzord was squawking in anger at Kamdor and, as soon as it got close enough, it opened fire.

Kamdor reeled away as he was struck by the fire but the Falconzord didn't do any major damage to him. As it turned to strike again, yet another explosion went off at the Brachiozord's legs and it reared again.

"No! Falconzord!" Tommy exclaimed. However, before the Falconzord could get there, the Rhino Steel Zord, in Warrior Mode, struggled with one of the massive Brachiozord's feet whilst the Dino Stegazord struggled with the other.

"Hurry up, Dr O.! I don't think we'll be able to hold the Brachiozord off of these people for much longer!" Trent exclaimed.

"I'm coming!" Tommy replied as the Falconzord swooped in and, despite resistance from the Brachiozord, managed to pull the Brachiozord to one side again.

"Alpha 5, take the Brachiozord Command Centre into the air! Quickly!" Tommy commanded as he activated the communication link between himself and the main Command Centre.

"Right away, Tommy," Alpha replied. In the background, Tommy could hear Zordon warn everyone to hold on tight.

Seconds later, before a third explosion could go off, the Brachiozord converted into jet mode and moved to the other side of the dome.

"Dominic, defend the Anti-Ranger protesters. Trent, with me!" Tommy commanded again.

Dominic steered the Rhino Steel Zord, in Warrior Mode, into a defensive position in front of the media and the Anti-Ranger protesters with its shield out in front to defend them from any stray blows.

At the same time, Trent and Tommy steered their Zords towards the battle between Kamdor and the Dragonzord.

"Hold him for me," Tommy exclaimed as he jumped into the cockpit of the Falconzord and steered the Falconzord away so that he could unleash a powerful destructive blow. Both Trent and Jason nodded and, seconds later, the Dragonzord and the Dino Stegazord held Kamdor in a powerful grip which he couldn't break free of.

Then, as the Falconzord flew rapidly towards Kamdor, it began to glow. When the Zord was metres from Kamdor, both the Dragonzord and the Dino Stegazord leapt back as the Falconzord unleashed a powerful blast at Kamdor before it pulled up to avoid being caught in the explosion which occurred.

Chunks of debris were thrown everywhere but the Rhino Steel Zord protected the Anti-Ranger protesters from it. Jason, however, wasn't so lucky and was hit by a few chunks. However, besides a few bruises, he was all right. Tommy, in the Falconzord, completely missed all of the debris whilst Trent, in the Dino Stegazord, was completely unaffected by the chunks which hit him.

"Good work in destroying Kamdor, Rangers," Zordon praised as the debris settled. "Return to the Brachiozord immediately as we've got much to discuss."

"You heard Zordon, guys. I'll race you there," Tommy smiled mischievously as the Falconzord flew off at full speed towards the Brachiozord. Trent, Jason and Dominic soon sent their Zords after him.

Mira Tricks watched them go with a disgusted look upon her face.

_I swear to you, Power Rangers, that I'll have my revenge for Kamdor's destruction. _She vowed silently as she watched them go.


	23. Chapter 13: Tricks Revealed

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 13: Tricks Revealed

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ninjazord hangar, late afternoon, a few minutes later _

As Tommy got out of the Falconzord, he powered down. Then, he smiled as the Falconzord made a squawking sound.

"I know, Falconzord. I'm glad that we won the race. I have to get up to the main Command Centre, though, so I can't stay here with you. Sorry," he assured as he stroked its beak. Then, as it sighed, he left the Ninjazord hangar.

Out in the corridor, he suddenly felt quite tired so he slowed his pace considerably. After a few minutes walking, he sighed.

He knew that he would regret running from the infirmary earlier so that he could get to the Ninjazord hangar and help Jason battle Kamdor but, at the time, there had been no other option. He had known that it would be risky to push himself so soon after nearly being killed but, like always, Tommy had pushed his boundaries to the limit. He knew that, after he had spoken to Zordon and then to the other Rangers, he would soon be able to get some rest, though. It was that thought which strengthened him as he slowly made his way up to the main Command Centre.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, in the corridor outside the main Command Centre, late afternoon, another few minutes later_

"Dr O. You're all right!" Kira exclaimed as she rushed to embrace him as soon as he reached the final corridor. He was quite exhausted but he didn't let it show as he didn't want to worry anyone any further. Soon, the RPM Power Rangers were embracing him. Then, RJ, Trent and Dominic embraced him when they appeared...

The embraces seemed endless until, finally, the other Original Rangers showed up.

"Out of my way," Kimberly exclaimed as she pushed through the thick crowd of Rangers around Tommy to get to him. Then, she threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

"I'm just glad you're all right," she said as she smiled at him. At that moment, the other Original Rangers embraced him as well.

"We knew that you would make it, Tommy," Jason smiled.

"As I said before, thank RJ," Tommy replied simply as he smiled back.

At that moment, Zordon finally decided to interrupt the happy reunion.

"Tommy, a word please," he called. Tommy grimaced.

"I'm coming, Zordon!" he called before he sighed. "I've got to go. Zordon calls."

Then, without another word, Tommy made his way through the thick crowd of Rangers to get into the main Command Centre. As soon as he entered, the soundproof door slid shut behind him.

"I wonder what Zordon wants with him now," Billy mused aloud. "Well, I suppose all we can do is wait to find out."

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early evening, some time later_

"It's serious, then, Zordon," Tommy said finally after considering everything that they had discussed during their long discussion. Zordon nodded.

"Yes. Dimitria wouldn't have warned you about Mira Tricks unless it was serious," Zordon replied simply. "She has the potential to be the downfall of us all during this war."

Tommy nodded. "At least, though, we know about who she really is underneath the disguise now which means that we'll be able to combat her more effectively because we've got a better idea of what we're up against now."

"We are indeed fortunate that you recognised Mira Tricks for what she really is," Zordon agreed.

Everything was silent for a few moments before Alpha 5 asked, "Do you wish me to open the door and call everyone in for a meeting in the Ranger Planning Room?"

"Yes, Alpha," Zordon said calmly. "There is much that we have to discuss now."

With a nod, Alpha 5 started to work on implementing his own suggestion as Tommy sighed.

"I just don't know how we're going to say it all, though, Zordon," he replied.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, early evening, a few minutes later_

As everyone took their seats, Tommy unbuckled his helmet and put it to one side. Then, as the other Power Rangers unbuckled their helmets and put them to one side, he stood up and told everyone about what had happened. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hayley enter carrying a tray covered in velvet cloth and he smiled.

"... I think that, before we continue, Hayley has something to say," Tommy smiled as he cut short his own speech. Hayley shook her head.

"Tommy, you never fail to amaze me with your perceptiveness," she said as everyone turned to her. "I've got some good news. Whilst all this mess was going on, I managed to repair the morphers belonging to the RPM Power Rangers."

Then, she removed the velvet cloth to reveal the morphers on the tray. The repairs had made them look as if they were brand new again and, as soon as Hayley offered the tray to them, the RPM Power Rangers snatched up their morphers. It was clear by the expression on their faces that they were happy to have their morphers back because it meant that they wouldn't miss any more battles. As they put their morphers back on their wrists or, in the case of Gem and Gemma, in their belts, they burst out into chatter.

Tommy smiled as he cleared his throat to get everyone's attention again. "Your excitement will have to wait, my friends, as we've got some urgent news which we need to discuss."

Tommy paused. "Have any of you ever fought a ninja before?" he finally asked. "I know that all of the Original Rangers have on numerous occasions fought ninjas but have the rest of you?"

There was pause for a moment before only Kira nodded. "I've fought one, Dr O., but what has this got to do with anything?"

Tommy grimaced. "Unfortunately, Kira, it's got everything to do with who we're up against right now," he said as he called up a holographic image of Miratrix.

"That's the ninja I faced, Miratrix," Kira exclaimed. "But..."

Tommy called up the holographic image of Mira Tricks. "See any similarities?"

"They've got an uncanny resemblance to each other," Billy noted.

"That's because they're the same person. Mira Tricks is really Miratrix in disguise," Tommy replied simply. "We're up against a dangerous ninja who obviously wants rid of us so that she can gain control of Corinth."

"It makes sense," Kira conceded. "I can see through the disguise now. Besides, wherever Kamdor went, Miratrix was never far behind. The whole Anti-Ranger protest group thing is just the sort of thing that she would do. She was manipulative, shrewd and always used to use others to get what she wanted."

After a few moments of silence, Tommy nodded.

"Evil ninjas always were," he said grimly. "Things are only going to get more dangerous for us now that the people are starting to be turned against us. It isn't the fault of the people, as they're only reacting in fear of what may be to come, but it isn't wholly Mira Tricks's fault either. In a way, I'm afraid, we've driven the people into Mira Tricks's hands by not being completely honest with them about our identities and why evil continues to come to Corinth. It's my fault mainly as I've always preferred to work in the shadows because of the whole "keep the secret" pledge and I transferred that belief into all of you."

"It's not completely your fault, Dr O.," Trent assured. "We're all at fault for not trying to be more open with the people but, to be honest, we've never had the time to give interviews or have press conferences because of all the hard work we've had to put in."

"Mira Tricks is most at fault for this, Tommy," Dominic assured. "Don't completely beat yourself up over the small portion of blame that we deserve."

"No, Rangers, _I _deserve the blame," Zordon said finally. "I have been trying to keep all of you out of the limelight as I did not want evil to find out that I am still alive just yet. However, I forgot about the most fundamental principle: The Power Rangers live to serve, and defend, the innocent people of the world."

He paused for a moment. "I am sorry," he apologised.

"Ok, now I'm really getting annoyed with all this emotional stuff," Dr K. said as she stood. "Forgive me for my bluntness but we're all at fault here and we've just got to live with the big mistake that we've all caused."

Then, she paused for a moment. "Now can we at least get back to more important matters?"

Tommy nodded. "Thanks, Dr K.," he said simply. "You're right, as usual. We shouldn't be wasting all this time blaming ourselves. Instead, we should be using this time more productively to come up with a plan to fix our mistake. However, before we do that, I'd like to add that I know that Mira Tricks was behind those explosions but we've got no way of proving it because, unfortunately, cameras aren't installed on the outer Brachiozord shell. The explosions, as Alpha tells me, didn't cause any damage to the titanium legs of the Brachiozord, though. Now..."

"I'm afraid, Tommy, that whatever you're about to say will have to wait," Cestria interrupted as she came in. She was carrying many trays with their dinner upon them. Since everyone had learned about her telekinetic powers, she had decided to openly flaunt them so she was using her mind to carry all of the dinners at once. "I've made dinner for all of you and I'm not going to let it go to waste."

Tommy sighed as Cestria handed out everyone their dinner. On the menu tonight was roast chicken complete with a wide range of good freshly chopped, and cooked, vegetables and everyone, as soon as they got theirs, began to tuck in.

"My compliments to you, Cestria," Tommy murmured as he ate. "This is a truly delicious meal which you've used your telekinetic talents effectively to preserve for us. You're better at using your gifts than I expected you would be."

"You knew about...?" Summer began.

"Of course they knew," Billy replied. "They're my closest friends and, as I've always done, I tell them everything."

"And we're completely supportive of you, Billy. Who knew that you would ever land such a beautiful girl and manage, against all the odds, to marry her," Zack chuckled. "I was hoping that I would be the first to settle down but you beat me to it."

Billy blushed. "It was by chance that Cestria and I met. If I hadn't..." he began. Tommy, however, interrupted them both as he knew that this conversation was heading down a dangerous path.

"If you both don't mind, I don't think that this is a suitable topic to discuss in front of present ears," He hissed at them before he paused to look up as he caught Dr K.'s glare. "Besides, Dr K. wants to say something else to us. You can speak, K."

Everyone turned to K. as she stood. "I haven't got very much information to tell you other than the work on the three remaining Dinozords continues on. We're roughly about halfway there and, as far as I'm concerned, we should be finished work on the Zords at some point later on tomorrow," she declared.

"Well, I do have something to add to that," Alpha said. "If I may, that is."

Zordon smiled. "Go ahead, Alpha, as they'll listen to you."

"I'm sorry, RJ and Dominic but you've been "volunteered" to repair the Space Zord hangar door. It's a security risk and, unfortunately, you're the only ones with door replacement experience," Alpha said simply.

RJ and Dominic sighed. "Whatever needs done, Alpha," RJ said simply.

"Thank you," Alpha said. A few moments of silence occurred after that.

"Alpha, Hayley and I are going to try to restore the disabled Megazords and we were wondering if you would like to join us?" Billy asked to break the silence.

"Yes, I'll join you. If Zordon wishes it, that is," Alpha replied. Zordon shook his head.

"Alpha, you are free to make your own decisions you know," he pointed out. "Besides, you can go anyway as I am going to be going to get some rest."

"The rest of us are going to get some training in," Jason declared. "It's time for us Original Rangers to show our successors what we can do together."

The RPM Power Rangers, Trent and Kira were excited about this prospect.

Cassidy and Devin instantly, however, shyly asked, "Can we watch?"

Jason smiled at them. "Sure, I don't see why not," he replied as Tommy sighed.

"Unfortunately, I can't join all of you," Tommy said simply as he finished his dinner. "I've got to go see IRMA to get checked out. I don't want to anger her any further after I fled from her infirmary earlier."

There were a few moments of silence before everyone else had finished.

"Well, if that is everything, you may as well go enjoy yourself," Tommy smiled.

"Yes, you are all dismissed," Zordon agreed.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-evening, a few minutes later_

As soon as Tommy spotted Kimberly on the way out of the Ranger Planning Room, she spotted him as well and she stopped.

Then, he hesitantly approached her as everyone else left to do their own thing.

"Is there any chance that we could go somewhere private to talk for a few minutes?" he asked. She smiled.

"Sure," she replied. "Lead the way."

Tommy lead her into a nearby empty corridor and, after he had checked that there was no one watching, she stood there with her back against the wall facing him as he struggled to get out what he wanted to say. Then, after a few moments of silence, he sighed.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry for how harshly I treated you yesterday, Kimberly," he said. "If I had been able to, I would have said it sooner. Just know that I didn't mean anything that I said to you and that I acted in unjustified anger."

Kimberly smiled. "No, Tommy, you didn't act in unjustified anger. I'm also to blame for acting like a spoiled, selfish child. Can you forgive me?"

He leaned in closer to her, with one arm against the wall above her to support himself, with a brilliant smile on his face.

"I think that we're both equally to blame. I can forgive you if you can find it in your heart to forgive me for treating you so badly," he chuckled.

"It's a deal," she smiled shyly back. At that moment, they just stood there looking into each other's eyes before, instinctively, Tommy leaned forward towards her lips. In reply, Kimberly hesitantly stood up onto her tiptoes but, before he could kiss her, they were interrupted by Zack as he coughed to reveal his presence.

"I'm sorry, I'll just leave," he said with a grin. Both Tommy and Kimberly broke away from each other and seemed embarrassed by Zack's intrusion.

"No, it's all right, I'm just heading down to the Infirmary right now anyway," Tommy replied. He was quite disappointed that Zack had ruined the moment but he hid his disappointment well as he fled. Kimberly, however, stood there blushing completely.

"Well?" Zack asked after a few moments of silence.

"I'll see you down at the Training Gym," she replied simply as she left.

Zack chuckled. He had to beat her down there. He couldn't wait to tell Trini and Jason what he had just seen as it was confirmation that the two of them still had feelings for each other. Like all of the other Original Power Rangers, he was of the firm opinion that Tommy and Kimberly had been made for each other and, also like the others, Zack didn't understand why they had ever split in the first place. They were all hoping that the pair of them would get back together again and, now, it looked likely that they would.

He took another moment before he rushed off down a different corridor to use a shortcut to get to the Training Gym before Kimberly could.

_Just wait until they hear about this! _Zack thought as he ran.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, mid-evening_

"You've come early, Tommy," IRMA noted as he entered the Infirmary. When she noticed his disappointed expression, she asked, "Is everything all right?"

"Everything is just fine, IRMA," Tommy assured as he sat down on the nearest bed. She came over to him and calmly unbuttoned his shirt so that she could see how his shoulder was as she also began to use a scanner she had brought with her to check his vital signs.

Tommy winced once or twice as she pressed on the spot where Zeltrax had struck him and IRMA noted this.

"It seems that there might be a small fragment of Zeltrax's sword left within you, Tommy," IRMA warned. "However, I'm guessing that it's lodged in your scapula..."

"What?" Tommy asked.

"In plain english, I'm guessing that the fragment has to be lodged somewhere in your shoulder blade," she replied simply. "I can get it out right now if you want..."

"What's the alternative?" Tommy asked.

"It will get more and more difficult to move your arm as time goes by, Tommy. I recommend that you let me take it out right away as soon as I've confirmed where the fragment is. We can get Zordon to..." she began.

"Zordon's resting, IRMA," Tommy warned simply as he sighed. "All right, you've got my express permission to do anything necessary to get that fragment out of my arm. I don't want to lose the use of my arm as I'm going to need it to fight evil."

She nodded and fetched the x-ray machine. Then, she calmly x-rayed his arm and, after waiting a few minutes, the results appeared instantly on screen.

"The technology Hayley put in this infirmary is the best in the world," IRMA smiled as she pointed out a black object lodged in his shoulder blade near to his arm. "That's the fragment Tommy and, now that I know where it is, I can assure you that it's best not to leave it there."

Tommy nodded. "All right, IRMA, just get all of this over with," he grimaced after a few moments.

"Don't worry, I intend to get it over with as quickly as possibly can. It shouldn't take me very long to get the fragment out," she assured as she tipped his head to one side. "I warn you..."

However, whatever else she had said was lost on him as she injected him with anaesthetic and he instantly lost consciousness.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, in the corridor outside the Space Zord hangar, mid-evening, at that very moment_

"This isn't going to take as much work as the last door," RJ noted. "It's been completely removed so all we'll have to do is dispose of the fragments of the old door and put in a new one."

"It shouldn't take us as long, then," Dominic noted.

"No, I think it might take us a bit longer," RJ disagreed. "The door is in hundreds of fragments and we will need to dispose of them _all _before we install the new door."

"In that case, we'd better get started then," Dominic groaned as Fran, who was back on his shoulder again, started to squeak. "Fran and I want to get some sleep."

RJ nodded and, together, they began the long task of gathering up all of the fragments and disposing of them. They all hoped that they could get this task down quickly enough so that they could go get a decent night of sleep.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1, mid-evening, also at that very moment_

"This is going to take us a while," Billy noted as he looked at the three large Megazords sitting in the Emergency Megazord Repair Bay. All three of them were wired up to status monitors, which showed their disabled status quite clearly, and a computer terminal so that the three of them could work on a way of breaking their disabled status.

Alpha nodded in agreement. "I know that, Billy, but the other Rangers are depending upon us to give them their Megazords back. Who knows when we'll need them to fight evil?"

Hayley, who had been silent up until this point, sighed. "The longer that we stand here talking about how long it is going to take us, the longer that it will take," she pointed out. "We had better get started."

And, with that, they set to work on the disabled Megazords. Alpha, Billy and Hayley all hoped that they would be able to free the Megazords before evil struck Corinth again. However, little did they realise that they were in for a nasty surprise...

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Training Gym, mid-evening, also at that very moment_

As Kimberly entered, everyone else turned to her. She could tell that they were concealing smirks and, as soon as she spotted Zack, she knew what had happened.

"So, Kimberly, what exactly happened between you and Tommy in the corridor?" Jason asked casually with a smile.

"Nothing happened," she replied with a blush. "He was just apologising to me for something he had said."

"I've heard that line too many times before, Kimberly, and each time something did happen," Trini giggled.

"Nothing happened all right!" she exclaimed as she took out her Pterodactyl Power Coin. "Pterodactyl!" she called.

After she had morphed, she summoned her Power Bow. "And, if anyone wants to continue with this discussion, they'll have to train with me first."

"I do," Zack said with a grin as he took out the Mastodon Power Coin. "Mastodon!"

After he had morphed, he summoned his Power Axe.

"If I win, we continue this conversation," Zack said as he and Kimberly began to circle.

"You wish," Kimberly replied as she suddenly switched to her Ninja Ranger form. Then, as Zack struck, she used the suit switching technique and took him out with a stunning blow to the head as he clutched at an empty suit. He was forcibly powered down as he collapsed to the floor. When they checked, they found out that he was unconscious.

Everyone looked at Kimberly with grim expressions. "Does anyone else want to continue this conversation?"

Everyone present quickly shook their heads. "Good. Now can we actually get to training?" she demanded.

"What about Zack?" Kira asked.

"Just leave him there," Kimberly shrugged. "He'll be all right in a few minutes."

And, without another word, training began as no one wanted to dare to cross Kimberly as they knew that they would end up like Zack.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, late evening, some time later_

As Tommy woke up after the operation, he grimaced. His shoulder wasn't in pain but he could feel his teeth aching. IRMA stood over him.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"It doesn't hurt, IRMA," he replied as he took a look at his shoulder blade. It was unblemished and completely healed. "Why...?"

"Zordon was here, Tommy," IRMA replied simply. "He somehow knew about what I was doing and, as soon as I got the fragment out, he healed up the wound. The operation went well and was over pretty quickly."

_So that's why my teeth ache. _Tommy thought silently before he asked aloud, "And the fragment?"

IRMA smiled. "It was larger than I first thought, Tommy, so I'm glad that I got it out. Do you want to see it?"

He nodded silently in reply and she disappeared to fetch it. Minutes later, she returned carrying the fragment on a tray. It was larger than a coin and much wider than it had seemed on the x-ray. Even though it was covered in blood, Tommy reached out to touch it but IRMA swatted his hand away.

"It's too dangerous, Tommy. As Zordon advised me to, I'm going to destroy it right away," she replied. "Now, you should be all right with some rest but I warn you that your shoulder might ache in cold weather sometimes. As far as I'm concerned, you're no longer my problem. If you get some rest, that is."

Tommy smiled as he hesitantly got to his feet. "I'll go get some rest right away," he promised. "Thanks, IRMA."

Then, without another word, Tommy left the Infirmary. IRMA sighed as she watched him go and calmly set to work on disposing of the fragment of Zeltrax's sword.

_Sometimes, that man is so lucky... _she thought. What she hadn't told Tommy was how difficult his operation had _really _been and, as she worked away on disposing of the fragment, she hoped that he never found out.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zeo base, late evening, a few minutes later_

As soon as Tommy entered, he went straight into the shower to clean off all the dried in dirt and blood. Then, he destroyed his old clothes and pulled on a fresh pair of black trousers and a black shirt. After that, he collapsed straight onto his bed and, with a warm smile upon his face, fell straight into a healing sleep.

_The Moon, Zedd and Rita's palace, late evening, at that very moment_

"Well, your evilness, what do you think?" Finster stuttered as he revealed his latest creation to Zedd. Squatt and Baboo were standing as far as they could away from Zedd in case he became angry about their monster design so that Finster would be the only one in danger from Zedd's rage.

Zedd appraised Finster's clay creation for a moment before he cackled. "This is perfect! With this monster, we'll bring Corinth to its knees in no time. At last, Finster, you've actually created something which we can use."

Finster blinked. "Really?" he said.

"Yes, really!" Zedd snapped as he activated the Monstermatic to turn the clay creation into a powerful dangerous monster. As it "cooked" the creation, Zedd looked to Squatt and Baboo.

"Find me some Tenga warriors," Zedd snapped at them. For the next few minutes, as they awaited the monster to be ready, Zedd had to listen to Finster's teeth chatter as he was trembling madly. However, before he could get extremely irritated, Squatt and Baboo finally returned with a dozen Tenga warriors and the monster was ready.

"Master, what is your command?" it demanded as it appeared out the other end of the Monstermatic.

"Take the Tenga warriors and these imbeciles with you. Find a way into Corinth City and capture it in my name," Zedd commanded as he pointed to Squatt and Baboo. The monster nodded.

"It will be as you have commanded. I'll get Squatt and Baboo to show me the way," it said as it left with Squatt, Baboo and the Tenga warriors.

Zedd smiled. Soon Corinth City would be his as nothing would be able to stop Finster's latest creation. Not even those meddling Power Rangers as it was just too powerful. Or so he hoped, anyway.

_Corinth City, Scorpion Cartel Base of Operations, late evening, also at that very moment_

As Mira Tricks entered, Fresno Bob sat up straight in the chair behind his desk. His bodyguards also stood to attention.

"Is everything in place?" she demanded.

"Yes, everything is in place like we agreed," Fresno Bob replied. "Now, as we agreed, you have to hand over the cash."

Mira Tricks sighed. Criminals were so predictably greedy. She walked forward and, as quickly as possible, dumped the metallic case full of cash onto his desk. Then, she moved back so that he could appraise it.

As soon as Fresno Bob was satisfied that the cash was legit, he smiled. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, Miss Tricks. Whenever you need men to do your dirty work, just let me know," he chuckled.

"I will," she promised as she turned and left. As soon as she had left, she smiled.

Everything was going exactly to plan.


	24. Chapter 14: Two Steps Forward

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 14: Two Steps Forward...

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, the next day, early morning_

"This was an excellent breakfast, as usual, Cestria," Tommy smiled as he finished his breakfast. As he spoke, Cestria shrugged.

"My people learn quickly," she murmured in his ear as she began to collect up all of their dishes.

"RJ, Dominic, did you..." Tommy began as Dominic, with Fran on his shoulder, looked up and smiled.

"Don't worry, Tommy. We put in a new door," he replied. "However, we had quite a lot of trouble collecting up all of the fragments of the previous one."

Tommy chuckled as Billy decided to speak. "We've had no luck with the disabled Zords, Tommy," he warned. "I hate to say it but whatever Croonia did to them might be permanent."

"Keep trying, Billy, as I'm sure that you'll be able to find a way of freeing them," Tommy said as Jason began to chuckle.

Tommy looked up to see Kimberly blushing furiously and that Jason, Zack and Trini were concealing smirks.

"Is something funny?" Tommy demanded simply with a deadly expression. Trini instantly looked away and Jason sensibly shook his head. Zack, however, seemed not to have learned his lesson yesterday as he nodded in reply.

"Oh yes, Tommy, we were just discussing..." Zack began. However, before he could finish, Tommy was relieved to hear a beeping noise.

"Alpha, report!" Zordon demanded.

Alpha 5, who had been standing next to Zordon, had moved over to the computer screen as soon as the beep begun. He was now furiously typing commands into the computer as soon as Zordon had spoken. It took him several seconds before he found out about what had caused the beeping noise.

"It's Colonel Truman, Zordon. He wants to talk to us," Alpha informed them.

"Can you patch it through, Alpha?" Tommy asked.

Alpha nodded. "I can try."

Seconds later, Colonel Truman appeared as a holographic image in the centre of the table in the Ranger Planning Room. It took him a few moments to adjust to what had happened before he sighed.

"Good morning, Colonel Truman, what is the problem?" Zordon asked.

"Forgive me for calling so early, Zordon, Rangers, but there's an urgent matter which has just come to my attention which will probably require your skills," Colonel Truman replied. "Last night, sensors in the tunnels into, and out of, Corinth City detected three breaches. We did send some men down to investigate but none of them have returned so I fear that the worst has happened to them."

"That doesn't sound good at all," Tommy grimaced. "What are Mira Tricks and her Anti-Ranger protesters up to?"

"We're fortunate that they're protesting outside the Corinth Defence Force headquarters right now as, if they had heard about the breaches, they may have endangered themselves by going into the tunnels to search for the breaches themselves," Colonel Truman replied. "However, it also means that the entire Corinth Defence Force will be unavailable to aid you for the foreseeable future as we're trapped inside headquarters with no other way out. We've got no idea what Mira Tricks and her Anti-Ranger protesters are up to out there as she's taken out all of our external cameras."

Tommy thought for a moment. "It's time that we learned a bit more about what the Anti-Ranger protest group are up to. I'm going to send in an undercover agent to keep an eye on them, Colonel, and I can assure you that we'll let you know about anything we find out," he finally said.

"Thank you," Colonel Truman said. "I've got to go now as it seems that the Anti-Ranger protest group are trying to storm into the building. We'll try to keep them occupied over here for as long as we can so that you'll have enough time to find out about what has caused the breaches and neutralise the threats."

Then, without another word, Colonel Truman shut down the communication link.

"So, Tommy, what's the plan?" Jason asked.

"It's best that we investigate these breaches in large groups because we don't have a clue about what we'll be up against," Tommy said as he turned to Zordon for a moment for confirmation of his statement. Zordon nodded and Tommy turned back again as he sighed, "Hence, we're going to split into three teams."

"And we're all going to get a piece of the action this time?" Scott asked. Tommy nodded.

"Yes," Tommy confirmed as he took a moment to consider the groups. "The RPM Power Rangers should be in one team together with Scott as your leader. RJ, I'm trusting you to take Trent, Kira and Dominic in the second team whilst I take the Original Rangers in the third."

"What about the spy?" Summer asked.

"I think that, due to her exceptional talents, Cestria is the best suited to spying on the Anti-Ranger protest group. She will be able to integrate herself into their ranks pretty quickly and she will also be able to find out about their plans by using her talents," Zordon replied.

"As you command, Zordon," Cestria replied simply.

"Alpha and I will continue with our work upon the disabled Zords but we're not too optimistic about our chances of repairing them any time soon," Hayley added.

"I will continue working upon the three remaining Original Zords. My teams are confident that we will have them completed by tomorrow at the latest," Dr K. added.

"What about us?" Cassidy asked after a moment of silence. Tommy smiled.

"Don't worry, Cassidy, I've got a very important job for you both," he assured. "You'll be manning the main Command Centre, under Zordon's watchful glare, whilst Cestria is spying upon the Anti-Ranger protesters. After you've received a few quick lessons from Alpha on how to work the controls, that is."

Cassidy nodded as Tommy sighed.

"Well, that is everything, I guess. Prepare to leave, Rangers," Zordon said finally. "May the Power protect you."

Tommy smiled. "And may it bless us with a great deal of luck today. I've got this funny feeling that we're going to need it."

Everyone was silent after his words as they slowly got up and began to filter out up into the main Command Centre. Tommy sighed.

_With all the chaos that is to come, which I'm sure Mira Tricks is planning, we're going to need a lot of luck indeed. _He thought as he followed Zordon up into the main Command Centre.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early morning, a few minutes later_

"So, what do you expect to find down in these tunnels, Dr O.?" Kira asked. Tommy shrugged as he noticed that Cassidy and Devin had begun to activate the teleport controls under Alpha's instruction.

"Whatever is down there, it can't be anything good," Tommy replied. "I can only hope that we're dealing with Miratrix's work and not, as I fear we might be, another villain as..."

However, before he could finish, they all vanished in flashes of coloured light.

_Corinth City, Aqua Tunnel 1, early morning, a few minutes later_

As the Original Rangers appeared outside the main tunnel for water going into, and out of, Corinth, they sighed.

"Do you know that, as this is the main tunnel, I've got this funny feeling that we'll be the ones facing the most dangerous threat," Trini said.

"So do I," Tommy replied as he stepped over the assorted rocks around the tunnel entrance and opened up the grate. "However, I hope that we're both wrong."

Billy sighed as everyone began to clamber into the smelly dank tunnel. "To be honest, Tommy, when have you ever really been utterly wrong about a feeling that you've had about something?"

Tommy thought for a moment and, when it was clear that he couldn't think of an answer, Kimberly sighed.

"The answer to that question, Tommy, is almost never so it's safe to assume that we _will _be fighting the most dangerous threat," she said simply as she entered the tunnel. The mood, at that point, turned slightly sour.

"Well, if we are going to be facing the most dangerous threat, we're going to be prepared for it after all the hard training that we've been putting in," Jason said to lighten up the mood a little after a few moments of silence.

"We can hope that you are right, Jason," Billy murmured as they all began to make their way down the tunnel. They were fortunate that there were lights installed in it otherwise they would have been blundering around in the pitch darkness but all of them knew that they weren't so fortunate in other ways...

_Corinth City, Aqua Tunnel 2, early morning, at that very moment_

"This should be easy enough," Ziggy commented as he watched Dillon, Flynn, Gem and Scott all struggle with the grate. When they finally got it open, Gemma and Summer sighed as the stench of the dank tunnel came to their noses.

"This is almost certainly going to take weeks to get out of my hair," Summer complained. Gemma nodded.

"At least, though, there's a chance that there is going to be a major..." she began.

"Boom!" Gem added. "Soon."

"Now that we've got our morphers back, that is," Gemma finished as Dillon sighed and entered the tunnel. Seconds later, he inserted his engine cell into his morpher.

"There are no lights installed in this tunnel and there's no way that we're going to be able to traverse it without light," he noted as he looked around. "RPM, Get in Gear!" he called.

Then, he morphed and switched his headlights on so that they could see where they were going.

"Well, are you coming?" he asked impatiently as he began to make his way down the tunnel. The other RPM Power Rangers sighed before they rushed after him.

Sometimes, Power Rangers got the worst jobs.

_Corinth City, Aqua Tunnel 3, early morning, also at that very moment_

"Piece of cake," Dominic smiled as he tore open the grate using his Rhino Blade. RJ groaned.

"Wow," Kira said in awe. "I wish that my morpher could do that."

Dominic shrugged as Fran, who was still sitting on his shoulder, squeaked. "It was nothing," he said.

"It was something," Trent disagreed. RJ, who by this point had made his way into the tunnel, just sighed as he looked around. This tunnel was damp and dank as well but, fortunately for them, there was lighting in it although some of the lights weren't working.

He turned to them. "We had better find whatever caused the breach quickly as I don't want to be spending too long down here. The stench is overwhelming," he grimaced.

The others sighed and nodded as they moved to follow him. It was certainly going to be one experience that they would never forget because of the overpowering smell.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zord Construction Bay, early morning, at that very moment_

"Status!" Dr K. demanded from where she stood upon her platform.

"We've almost completed the Sabertoothed Tiger Dinozord over here!" the leader of the first group of technicians, who were working closest to her, replied.

"And we've almost completed the Mastodon Dinozord here!" the leader of the second group of technicians replied.

"K., it's going to take us a while to complete the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord. In addition, we need a bit of a hand over here," Anton replied after a few moments of silence. Dr K. sighed.

"I'm coming, Anton. However, if it's anything to do with that..." she began as she headed over to where he, and all the technicians in his teams, were working upon the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early morning, a few minutes later_

"Any signs of what may have caused the three breaches?" Zordon asked gently as Devin and Cassidy were scanning the length and breadth of each of the tunnels. Cassidy turned to him and shook her head.

"No, Zordon, we've found nothing so far," she replied.

"Keep searching as whatever caused those breaches is bound to still be down there," Zordon said grimly. "We have got to find whatever is down there before whatever is down there finds the Rangers."

Cassidy nodded. "Yes, Zordon," she replied as she turned back.

Zordon sighed as he sat back in his chair. He only hoped that they could find whatever was down there before it was too late. As always, to be forewarned was better to Zordon than being surprised by the sneaky villains.

_Corinth City, Outside the Corinth Defence Force Headquarters, early morning, at that very moment _

As Cestria calmly joined the back of the ranks of the Anti-Ranger protesters, none of them seemed to bother at all about her sudden appearance out of nowhere. They were just too busy chanting their slogans of "The Rangers bring us evil!", "People Power! Not Ranger Power!" and "Down with the Rangers!" as they waved banners and carried placards. Cestria then opened her mind to those around her as she calmly began to mouth the slogans so that it seemed to all who glanced at her that she was chanting along with them in support.

However, what Cestria was really doing was searching for those higher ranking members who could get her close enough to Mira Tricks so that she could try to discover details about what the Anti-Ranger protest group were planning. Her mind was awash with the thoughts of those protesters around her and, after a few moments of sifting through their thoughts, she singled out one of the slightly higher ranking protesters. Then, she casually made her way to him as she continued to mouth the slogans. However, she didn't make first contact with him.

"Hi," he finally said after spotting her standing there beside him. She could tell by the thoughts running through his mind that he was attracted to her and she planned instantly to use that to her advantage. "I'm Ross."

Cestria smiled shyly. "My name is Cecilia," she lied instantly. She knew that she couldn't mention her real name as she knew that, if they found out her true identity and her link to the Power Rangers, this mob would likely try to kill her instantly. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice indeed," Ross replied. There was a moment of silence before he finally spoke again.

"So..." he began. Cestria forced a smile as he began to discuss how much he hated the Rangers. Soon, she knew, he would lead her to another higher ranking member, and another, until, finally, she would get close enough to Mira Tricks to discover her plans. Until then, though, she would just have to put up with the mindless protesters in the lower ranks who couldn't even think for themselves beyond their rage.

She sighed. It was going to be a long day.

_Corinth City, Aqua Tunnel 2, mid-morning, a while later_

As Dillon heard the distinctive heavy footfall, which couldn't possibly belong to any of the Rangers, he stopped where he stood.

"Stop!" he hissed to the others. "We're not alone."

The other RPM Power Rangers stopped instantly. Then, they listened as they heard the distinctive heavy footfall coming towards them. Dillon gestured to the others to get up against the tunnel wall as he switched off his headlight.

"... Lord Zedd isn't going to be happy about this, my friend. That..." a distinctive voice said as the footfall approached. In the darkness, the RPM Power Rangers could barely make out the two shapes coming around the nearest corner and approaching them.

"On three," Scott whispered. The two villains stopped in their tracks.

"What was that?" the other asked.

"I..." the one with the distinctive voice began.

"Now!" Scott exclaimed as Dillon switched his headlights back on. The RPM Power Rangers instantly swarmed around the two villains and attacked but, before they could do any serious damage to them both, the cowardly villains vanished in flashes of green light. The RPM Power Rangers instantly began to look around in slight confusion.

"Where did they go?" Gemma said as she looked around. "They didn't just..."

"That was weird," Flynn said. "Villains don't normally flee."

"I know. Did you see how ugly they were?" Ziggy grimaced.

"I did," Gem said. "They looked even worse than Venjix."

Summer, who had been silent up until this point, decided to speak up. "Was it only me who noticed that they mentioned Lord Zedd?"

Scott blinked. "So they did. I..."

Dillon coughed deliberately so that he could interrupt and sum everything they had all said up. "Excuse me. So we all heard them mention Lord Zedd, we all agree that they're quite ugly, that they're unusually cowardly for villains and that they've fled?"

Everyone nodded at this. Then, all of the RPM Power Rangers fell silent.

"I think that we need to contact Tommy," Scott suggested. "The Original Rangers might know who they were and what they were up to."

"I agree," Summer said. "Who is going to..."

"I'll make contact. You guys better gather around so that he can hear us all," Dillon offered quietly as he activated the communicator within his Rev Morpher. Seconds later, they were in contact with the main Command Centre.

"Cassidy here. What's wrong, Dillon?" Cassidy asked.

"Nothing serious. Could you patch us through to Tommy, please? We need to talk to him," Dillon said quickly. "We think that we've found out something important."

There was a murmur in the background from Zordon before Cassidy replied.

"Of course. I must warn you that Zordon wants to hear your information as well so we'll be listening to everything you say," she warned.

"All right," Scott replied. "Just patch us through, Cassidy."

There was a few minutes of silence before they were patched through to Tommy and the Original Rangers.

"What's wrong, guys?" Tommy asked instantly as soon as he was patched through.

"We think that we've found out what the first breach was," Flynn answered. "A few minutes ago we encountered these monsters..."

"Describe them," Jason said.

"They were ugly and very quick to flee when we ambushed them. However, before we ambushed them, they mentioned Lord Zedd and that he wouldn't be happy with them," Scott replied.

"Surely it can't be..." Trini began.

"Rangers, that sounds like Squatt and Baboo to me," Zordon interrupted.

"It sounds exactly like them to us as well, Zordon," Tommy agreed.

"They always fled at the first sign of trouble," Kimberly added.

"And they're constantly in Zedd's disfavour because they always bumble Zedd's plans," Zack chuckled.

"Rangers, if Zedd is behind the breaches, things are only going to get more dangerous as we will have to defeat Zedd's plot and Miratrix at the same time," Zordon warned.

"I know, Zordon," Tommy replied as he paused for a moment. "RPM Power Rangers, Squatt and Baboo are obviously gone now so you had better return to the Brachiozord as we can't risk being in Corinth when we're not fighting evil right now. Besides, Cestria's going to need a recovery team who can rescue her if things go wrong."

"We will, Tommy," Scott promised. "Cassidy, get us out of here. RPM Power Rangers out."

Then, Dillon shut down the communication link as he powered down. Seconds later, the RPM Power Rangers vanished in flashes of coloured light.

_Corinth City, Aqua Tunnel 3, mid-morning, a few minutes later_

"Look out!" RJ exclaimed as he pulled Kira out of the way from the flying mass of feathers which had launched at her. Dominic barely had enough time to summon his Rhino Blade before there were many bird-like creatures upon them.

"What are they?" Trent exclaimed as Kira let out a Ptera scream to knock three of them out of the air.

"I don't know but they're dangerous," RJ replied as he swiftly went through the Wolf stances. "Call to the spirit within, unleash the Wolf!"

Seconds later, the Wolf leapt out from RJ's palms and took out several of the bird-like creatures as Dominic polished off the final few with a powerful Super Slash attack. Fran was trembling in fright upon his shoulder.

The four of them stood still for a moment as they took in several deep breaths to recover from the surprise attack. Then, RJ instantly watched in fascination as the bird-like creatures vanished into thin air.

"What were they?" Kira asked.

"I don't know but perhaps Tommy or Zordon might," RJ replied as he activated his communicator.

"RJ... Don't tell me..." Devin began as the communication link was established.

"Let me guess, the RPM Power Rangers have already called in," RJ said.

"Yes," Devin replied. "Do you..."

"Yes. Patch us through," Dominic cut in as he tried to reassure Fran who was sitting upon his shoulder.

"Right," Devin replied.

Seconds later, Tommy could be heard sighing on the other end of the communication link.

"What attacked you?" he asked.

"Dr O., they were bird-like creatures," Kira replied. "And ugly."

"Surely Zedd wouldn't mobilise _them_," Billy murmured to Tommy as Kimberly sighed.

"Tommy... we've not had any major problems with Tenga warriors since..." she began.

"I know," Tommy assured. "Zordon, Zedd must be plotting something big for him to mobilise the Tenga warriors."

"I fear what this big plot is Tommy. All of you must be on your guard as the third breach must be down the tunnel which you are in," Zordon replied grimly. "RJ, you and the others must come straight back to the Brachiozord now. It's just too dangerous to be down in the tunnels now."

"But can't we..." Dominic began.

"Trust me, Dominic, you're better off returning to the Brachiozord now. Whatever is down here is something that we're going to be better equipped to deal with. Once you've fought so many of Zedd's monsters, you learn how to fight them all," Tommy assured. "Besides, if we can't deal with the monster, it'll attack Corinth City so we're going to need the Megazords to stop it. You and Trent are the only two Rangers with working Megazords right now so it would be best that you're above ground and available in case anything goes wrong. Tommy out."

RJ nodded in agreement as he looked up at the others just as Tommy left the communication link. "Tommy's right, guys. Devin, Cassidy, teleport us out of here," he said finally after a few moments of silence.

Seconds later, they vanished in flashes of coloured light.

_Corinth City, Aqua Tunnel 1, mid-morning, at that very moment_

"This stinks of one of Zedd's more nefarious plots, Tommy," Billy warned.

"I know. This monster is going to be extremely dangerous," Tommy agreed. "However, we're the Original Rangers so we should be able to handle it."

"Tommy's right, guys, we've got to deal with this third breach so that we can concentrate all of our resources upon dealing with Mira Tricks and the Anti-Ranger protest group. They're a much more dangerous threat to us and Corinth City than whatever this breach is," Kimberly agreed.

There was another moment of silence before Jason nodded. "Let's go. We're not going to deal with this breach quickly if we stand around talking about it," he said.

With a sigh, Tommy took the first steps down the tunnel and, after a few moments, the rest of the Original Rangers followed behind him. They weren't looking forward to whatever was down there but they knew that they had to deal with it.

The fate of Corinth City could depend on it.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zord Construction Bay, late morning_

"Dr K., the Mastodon Dinozord and the Sabertoothed Tiger Dinozord are complete!" one of the excited technicians exclaimed as he checked the diagnostic reports for the third time.

Dr K., from where she stood on her platform, hurriedly made her over to verify the results. There were a few tense moments of silence where all of the technicians were quiet until she smiled.

"Congratulations, both Zords are complete," she announced. The technicians started to cheer for a few moments before Dr K. interrupted them with a cough.

"Unfortunately, the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord isn't complete yet. It's going to take all of your hard work to finish it so you can all help the two existing teams already working on the Zord to complete it," she replied.

The technicians sighed as they got back to work. Sometimes, Dr K. spoiled all of the fun.

_Corinth City, Outside the Corinth Defence Force Headquarters, late morning_

"This is Amelia," Ross shouted in introduction over the crowd. "She's Mira Tricks's PR woman. Amelia, this is Cecilia."

"It's an honour," Cestria said with another forced smile. She was finally slowly making her way up the chain towards Mira Tricks and, soon, she would be able to get close enough to her to find out what she was planning. Amelia didn't know anything about the plans but she did know those who would know something.

"No, it's mine," Amelia said quickly. "So..."

Cestria sighed inwardly and began to grow quite angry as Amelia began to tell Cestria why she should hate the Power Rangers. She had heard all these arguments before from Ross but, as she had suspected, the majority of those in the Anti-Ranger protest group couldn't think for themselves. It was definitely going to be a long tortuous day but Cestria, before she lost her temper, reminded herself that everyone was depending upon her to find out about what Mira Tricks was planning. Then, she reminded herself about what would happen to her if the Anti-Ranger protest group found out the truth about her identity.

She calmed instantly at that thought. However, she reminded herself that, once this was over, she would never do this sort of work again. If the Power Rangers wanted to spy on someone, they would have do it themselves in the future.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1, late morning_

"Well, Alpha?" Hayley asked.

Alpha 5, who had tried yet another technique to free the disabled Zords, shook his head after the attempt failed.

"It didn't work," Alpha replied.

Hayley silently cursed before she sighed. "All right. Run the next technique, Alpha."

Alpha nodded as he began to work on the next technique. Hayley sighed. If they didn't make a breakthrough soon, the Power Rangers would be without the majority of their Megazords which would leave them quite defenceless. Hence, Hayley and Alpha both knew that they had to keep working to free the disabled Zords.

They both just hoped that they made a breakthrough soon before evil struck Corinth again. Little did they realise that they were already too late...

_Corinth City, Aqua Tunnel 1, late morning, at that exact moment_

As they approached the middle of the tunnel, Tommy stopped instantly as he heard a low grunt and slurping.

"Stop," he hissed quietly to the others. "I think that we've found our breach."

The others stopped and listened to the low grunting and the slurping for a few moments.

"It sounds as if it's just around this corner. We've got to be prepared for the worst, guys," Billy warned.

"We are, man. If this is one of Zedd's more nefarious plots, whatever is around this corner is going to be dangerous," Zack replied.

"And I'm ready to kick its butt!" Trini whispered with a grin.

Tommy sighed. "Let's just get this over with. On three..." he grimaced as he began to count up to three. When he reached three, they slowly crept around the corner to see what they were up against. When Tommy and Billy saw it, they turned pale.

"Hydro Hog!" Billy burst out as he gazed upon the pig-like villain before them. Hydro Hog looked up from where it was draining away the water supply and Tommy turned paler when he noticed that it had several vast improvements from its original form. He knew then that this wasn't the original Hydro Hog but in fact an improved copy made by Finster in his workshop.

"Rangers!" Hydro Hog grunted as it stopped draining away the water supply. "Don't get in my way!"

"It's too late for that Hydro Hog," Tommy replied as he whipped out his morpher. "You may be an "improved" version created by Finster and his Monstermatic but we're not going to let that stop us. I can assure you that we're not going to stand by and allow you take Corinth's water supply."

He paused for a moment as he heard the other Original Rangers whip out their own morphers. "Ready?" he asked.

The other Original Rangers smiled at this. "Ready," they replied.

"It's Morphin' Time!" Tommy called as the Rangers activated their morphers. "Tigerzord!"

"Tyrannosaurus!" Jason called.

"Mastodon!" Zack called.

"Triceratops!" Billy added.

"Sabertoothed Tiger!" Trini called.

"Pterodactyl!" Kimberly finished.

The Original Rangers morphed. Then, they attacked Hydro Hog. Back and forth, back and forth, the Original Rangers fought as they battled Hydro Hog. Its improvements were making it difficult for them but, despite the odds being against them, they all landed a powerful blow against the Hydro Hog to knock it back down the tunnel.

It landed in a puddle of water as Zack smiled in satisfaction.

"Take that, Hydro Hog. You should run whilst you still can!" Zack taunted.

"I won't be defeated!" Hydro Hog roared. "Allow me to demonstrate my true might."

Then, Hydro Hog threw its sword into the tunnel before it and began to chant. After a few moments, a loud roaring noise could be heard further down the pipes and it grew steadily louder as it grew closer. It took Tommy a moment to realise what Hydro Hog had done and, when he did, he turned pale.

"Hydro Hog has summoned powerful waves against us!" Tommy exclaimed as he turned to the Original Rangers. "Run!"

_The Moon, Zedd and Rita's palace, late morning, also at that very moment_

As Zedd watched the Original Rangers flee down the tunnel, from the waves caused by the Hydro Hog, through the telescope, he cackled in glee.

_At last, I'm finally going to be rid of those pesky Original Rangers! _He thought silently.

Zedd knew that there could be no escape for the Original Power Rangers from this one.

Zedd, like all powerful sources of evil, knew that nature always won in the end during a battle between nature and man.


	25. Chapter 15: One Soak Back

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 15: One Soak Back

_Corinth City, Aqua Tunnel 1, late morning, a few minutes later_

The roaring noise grew louder and louder as the Original Rangers ran down the tunnel.

"We're never going to make it! Even if we use our communicators, we're not going to be able to teleport out of here in time now," Trini exclaimed.

At that moment, Tommy suddenly veered into a side tunnel as, at the same time, a Laser Pistol appeared in his hands. The other Original Rangers followed him and, as the roaring grew even louder, Tommy fired at the ceiling to seal them into the side tunnel. Once the ceiling had collapsed, the roaring noise grew so loud that they knew that the waves had caught up with them. Then, the roaring noise began to subside as the waves passed by. There were a few moments of coughing because of the dust which the collapse of the ceiling had caused before everyone powered down and looked at Tommy.

"We're trapped in here now. Why did you do it, Tommy?" Billy demanded as he looked around.

"It was the only thing which I could think of," Tommy replied defensively. "It saved our lives, didn't it?"

"Yes. However, we've got a bit of a problem," Billy replied. "We're trapped in here, we can't call for help as our communicators don't work under water..."

"We're under water?" Trini said as she blinked.

"Look up. We're fortunate that Tommy only took out the concrete ceiling, and not the glass tunnel as well, as we would be dead otherwise," Billy replied simply.

Everyone did look up to see that there was more water above them. Tommy grimaced.

"I didn't know," he replied as he turned away. "I didn't have any other alternative, though."

"We know that, Tommy," Kimberly assured. "Don't beat yourself up about this."

"At least we're alive," Zack smiled. There were a few moments of silence before Jason finally asked the key question.

"What are we going to do, though?" Jason said.

"We're going to have to wait for a rescue," Tommy replied simply. "It's the only thing that we can do as this tunnel is a dead end so following it would be pointless."

"We're not going to be able to hold out forever down here, Tommy. There's not a lot of oxygen down here to sustain us for much longer," Billy warned.

Tommy sighed. "Then, we can only hope that our rescue finds us before it is too late," he said as he sat down nearby.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late morning, at that very moment_

_Warning... Warning... Warning..._

"Report Cassidy!" Zordon demanded as all the other Rangers stared at the viewing screen in shock.

"I don't know what happened!" Cassidy replied as she turned to them. "However, I do know that we've lost contact with the Original Rangers."

"It can't be..." Kira began. RJ concentrated for a moment before he sighed in relief.

"They're not dead," Dominic said simply.

"You are sure?" Zordon asked.

RJ nodded. "If they were dead, we would know."

Kira looked at RJ in puzzlement as Fran, who was sitting on Dominic's shoulder, squeaked.

"Pai Zhua masters don't have to think, we know what must be done and when it must be done for," Dominic replied simply. "We know that the Original Rangers are still alive."

"Then, if they're alive, we've got to go rescue them. If we've lost contact with them, it means that they're trapped somewhere in Aqua Tunnel 1," Trent burst out.

RJ nodded. "Exactly," he agreed.

"Rangers, you must all put your full efforts into rescuing the Original Rangers. If they are still alive, they are not going to have a lot of time left," Zordon commanded.

"We will find them, Zordon," RJ assured. "I'm just worried about what they faced down there. If they couldn't easily dispose of it, it must have been dangerous."

"As long as you try not to attract its attention to your search, you should be fine down there," Zordon assured as he nodded to Cassidy. She turned back to the controls and activated the teleportation controls. "Good luck, Rangers."

Before any of the Power Rangers present could reply, they vanished in flashes of coloured light.

_Corinth City, Aqua Tunnel 1, late morning, a few minutes later_

"Scatter!" RJ warned all of the Rangers just as they reappeared outside of Aqua Tunnel 1. Instantly, the Rangers obeyed his command and scattered away from tunnel just before powerful waves spewed out of the entrance.

"Wow, those were some waves," Kira noted.

"There's no way that they could have..." Flynn began as RJ took a deep breath.

"They're still alive," he repeated firmly.

"How can you know that? For all we know..." Scott demanded.

"They're alive," Dominic said firmly as Fran squeaked. "We know that they're alive as much as we know, although you've never said it aloud, that you're still unhappy about losing overall command of all Power Rangers here in Corinth."

Scott looked down and said nothing else.

"We know that they're alive as much as we know that Ziggy has a crush on Dr K. as well," RJ added with a grin. Ziggy blushed quite deeply.

"I do not," he lied firmly. However, everyone else could see through his lie instantly and Summer giggled.

"It's a trick only a Pai Zhua master is capable of," RJ replied simply. "As I've said before, we don't need to think. We know what must be done and when it must be done for."

Dominic grew grim.

"Dom?" RJ began.

"We're running out of time, RJ," he said simply. RJ sighed.

"We had better get started then," RJ said as he made his way into the tunnel. After a few moments, the other Rangers followed suit. They only hoped that they would find the Original Rangers before it was too late to save them.

_Corinth City, Outside the Corinth Defence Force Headquarters, early afternoon_

Cestria had just had enough. It was time for her to use her telekinetic powers to compel Amelia to take her to Mira Tricks. She knew that she was reaching the end of her patience with the Anti-Ranger protest group, as they were beginning to really anger her with all the reasons why they hated Rangers, so she had to get to Mira Tricks quickly and then get out of there.

Sure, Power Rangers weren't perfect but they at least _tried _their best to defend the people from evil. However, she did sympathise with the Anti-Ranger protest group a little. They were acting in fear of the evils which had recently begun to show up in Corinth and, to be honest, the Power Rangers hadn't really done anything to address those fears.

_Take me to Mira Tricks. _Cestria commanded as she overwhelmed Amelia's mind. Amelia blinked for a moment before she smiled.

"You know, I think that I might just be able to get you audience with Mira Tricks herself. Right this way, Cecilia," Amelia said with a smile.

Cestria sighed in relief as she followed Amelia through the crowd of Anti-Ranger protesters. At last, she was only a few moments from finding out about Mira Tricks's diabolical plots. She only hoped, though, that she would be able to keep her cool after she had found out about the plots. If she couldn't, her very life would be in the greatest of danger.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zord Construction Bay, early afternoon, also at that very moment_

"Status!" Dr K. demanded.

"At last check, the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord was 75% complete," Anton Mercer called in reply. "We're currently..."

"At 85%, K.," Tenaya 15 finished.

"Keep up the good work," Dr K. said calmly. "We don't know when the Original Rangers are going to need their Zords so it would be best if we complete the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord as quickly as possible."

"Yes, K.," they replied with a sigh. One thing was for certain, all of the technicians, Anton Mercer and Tenaya 15 were going to be happy when the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord was complete. It would mean that they could finally, after their endless hard work, get some rest.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1, early afternoon, also at that very moment_

"This hasn't worked either," Alpha said with a sigh as yet another technique they had tried to free the disabled Megazords failed. He turned to Hayley where she worked at a nearby terminal. "I'm sorry, Hayley, but nothing seems to be able to free them."

"It's all right Alpha," Hayley reassured with a smile. "I'm sure that, eventually, we'll find some way of freeing the disabled Zords. We've just got to keep trying each technique one by one until we find the one which works."

Alpha nodded. "Should I run the next technique, then?" he asked. Hayley nodded.

"Yes," she replied. _Although I'm not too confident that it'll work either. I just hope that we find the technique which frees these Megazords before it is too late. _she thought silently to herself.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early afternoon_

_I just hope that they are all right... _Zordon thought silently to himself as he sat there.

"Zordon, we've managed to identify the third breach," Devin said grimly. "It's trouble."

"Why?" Zordon asked instantly in reply.

"It's the Hydro Hog, Zordon," Cassidy answered. "Dr O. has tagged its file with a personal note which says "_Extremely disastrous if not dealt with quickly and effectively. Only to be dealt with by the most powerful and resourceful of Rangers by recommendation of the Aquitian_s."

Zordon turned pale. "Oh no..." he murmured. "No wonder we lost contact with the Original Rangers."

"Zordon, what do you want us to do?" Cassidy asked after a few moments of silence.

He sighed. "Monitor the Hydro Hog for now. When the Rangers have found the Original Rangers, we might be able to deal with it."

"As you command, Zordon," Devin replied as he and Cassidy turned back to work on the console. Zordon sighed yet again.

He only hoped that they found the Original Rangers before the Hydro Hog decided to reveal itself as Zordon knew that, although they were very experienced, the other Rangers wouldn't be able to battle it because it was just too powerful.

_Corinth City, Aqua Tunnel 1, early afternoon, at that very moment_

As the Hydro Hog realised that it had absorbed enough water to grow bigger, it smiled.

Now. Corinth would be Lord Zedd's and, with the Original Rangers out of the way, there would be no one powerful enough to stop him.

_Corinth City, in a different part of Aqua Tunnel 1, early afternoon, also at that very moment_

As the ground shook uncontrollably, RJ and the other Rangers braced themselves against the wall as RJ's Wolf Morpher beeped. He barely managed to activate it because of the shaking and, as soon as he did, it took a few moments for Zordon's voice to reach them.

"Rangers... can you hear me?" Zordon asked.

"Yes, Zordon, we can hear you," RJ replied. "What's happening?"

"We have identified the third breach as the Hydro Hog. It is an extremely dangerous villain which feeds off water to become more powerful and, according to our readings, it has grown to massive proportions. Fortunately, though, it is bursting through into Corinth from underneath the lake, which is why the ground you are standing upon is shaking, so no one has been injured so far. However, that fact may change very quickly if we don't stop it," Zordon replied.

"We can't abandon the search for the Dr O. and the Original Rangers, though!" Kira exclaimed.

"You are going to have to abandon the search for now. Aqua Tunnel 1 has become increasingly unstable and, if you stay there whilst Hydro Hog is creating devastation, your lives could be at risk. Furthermore, if we do not do anything to stop Hydro Hog, we will be giving the Anti-Ranger protest group and Mira Tricks more ammunition to use against us," Zordon countered. "I am sorry but the Original Rangers are going to have to wait a bit longer."

Dominic sighed. "Zordon's right, guys. Hydro Hog is the bigger priority."

"How dangerous is it, Zordon?" Scott dared to ask.

"Unfortunately it is extremely dangerous, Rangers," Zordon replied. "It is more dangerous than Scorpina was so I warn you to be on your guard."

Dillon smiled. "I'm glad that I'm not fighting it."

Trent groaned. "That's right. It will just be me and you, Dominic, because we're the only ones with working Megazords right now."

"I know," Dominic replied. "We'll do our best, though."

"Cassidy and Devin are going to teleport you to the lakeside so you should prepare yourselves," Zordon warned. "The Rhino Steel Zord, and all the Zords which you require Trent, will be released immediately. Zordon out."

Then, before they could consider his words, they vanished in flashes of coloured light.

_Corinth City, in a different part of Aqua Tunnel 1, early afternoon, also at that very moment_

As the shaking began to subside, Tommy slowly got to his feet.

"That wasn't good," he grimaced.

"It had to have been the Hydro Hog, Tommy," Billy warned. "Which probably means that he has managed to absorb enough water to grow to a massive size."

"I know," Tommy replied. "It also means that our rescue will be busy trying to deal with the Hydro Hog so we're on our own now."

"What can we do, though?" Trini demanded in frustration. "We're trapped in here and the Hydro Hog is probably rampaging across Corinth City right now as we speak. We've got nothing to work with."

"We've got our brains, Trini," Jason replied as he reached into his pocket. "And our morphers. Which reminds me..."

He took out the Dragon Power Coin and handed it to Tommy. "This is yours," he finished.

Tommy grimly nodded. "Thanks, I had forgotten all about it."

"So what are we going to do?" Zack finally said after a few moments of utter silence.

"We're going to come up with a plan," Kimberly replied. "I've got sort of an idea..."

Everyone huddled close as she began to discuss her idea. They knew that their time was running out but they hoped that this idea of Kimberly's would be good enough to use before it became too late.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zord Construction Bay, early afternoon, also at that very moment_

"Congratulations, the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord is 100% complete," Dr K. declared as the tired technicians stood back to admire their work. They cheered at this.

"All of you deserve a well earned break because of your hard work," Anton Mercer continued. "So, as far as we're concerned, no work on new Zords will take place until tomorrow. You may all go home to your families and friends but I must warn you not to mention that you've been working for the Rangers as it could make you a target of the Anti-Ranger campaign and we certainly don't want that."

The technicians cheered further and began to filter out of the Zord Construction Bay, chattering as they went, as Tenaya 15 and a tired Anton Mercer went to Dr K.

"Well, K., what now?" Anton asked.

"We go up to the main Command Centre to find out about what is going on. That's what," she replied as she left. Tenaya 15 and Anton Mercer sighed.

It looked like that they weren't going to get the break which they deserved after all.

_Corinth City, Outside the Corinth Defence Force Headquarters, mid-afternoon_

As Cestria laid eyes upon Mira Tricks, she instantly saw through the disguise to Miratrix.

"Miss Tricks," Amelia said politely. "I'd like to introduce you to Cecilia. She's got a bright and intelligent mind which I think that we can use in our campaign."

Mira Tricks smiled at Cestria but that smile, Cestria could tell, was forced. "It's nice to meet you," she said.

"It's nice to meet you too," Cestria replied as Mira Tricks began the "why you should hate Power Rangers speech".

However, Cestria was paying very little attention to that. Instead, she was paying a lot more attention to Mira Tricks's twisted mind. It had been easy for Cestria to infiltrate it undetected and, as soon as she got inside Mira Tricks's mind, she was horrified by what she found.

Mira Tricks had planted nine bombs in amongst the thirteen apartment blocks which were linked by a cross on a map of Corinth City. They were due to go off at five o'clock, little more than three hours from now, during the rush hour so that they would have the maximum amount of devastation. Cestria knew that many bombs would kill a great deal of innocent people and she was disgusted by the fact that Mira Tricks planned to pin it on the Rangers.

She also planned to prevent the Rangers from interfering by reconfiguring the shield remotely to prevent anyone from teleporting around Corinth at four and by swamping the Brachiozord Command Centre with a wing of the Anti-Ranger protest group to monitor their actions.

This entire plan made Cestria so sick and angry that she completely forgot all about her self-control.

Then, she forgot all about her dangerous surroundings as she blurted out, "You disgust me, Mira Tricks. What I can't understand is why? Why must you endanger so many innocent people in your personal vendetta against the Power Rangers? What have they done to deserve all this?"

Mira Tricks blinked and growled as the entire protest group fell silent and stared at Cestria.

"Now I know you. You're Cestria," Mira Tricks said. "The Rangers sent you to spy upon us."

"And I'm disgusted by what I've found, Mira Tricks. You're not what you appear to be to all these people and I can assure you that the Power Rangers will show them the truth soon enough," Cestria countered. "I've known the Rangers for a long time, as I'm married to one of them, and I can assure you that they're not evil. They're constantly defending Corinth from evils like you, Mira Tricks, because you like civilisations to crumble under your feet and not because they bring the evil to Corinth themselves."

There was another moment of silence and Cestria groaned softly as she realised just what she had done.

"She's related to the Rangers. Get her!" Mira Tricks yelled.

At that moment, several of the protesters dived towards Cestria and Cestria reacted by using her telekinetic powers to launch herself into a powerful leap over the mob protesters. When she landed some distance away from them, she got to her feet and ran.

"After her!" Mira Tricks yelled. "She'll lead us to the Rangers."

As the Anti-Ranger protest group gave pursuit, Cestria grimaced.

"Damn," she cursed as she ran. As she ran, she only hoped that she would get away from the Anti-Ranger protest group as she had to carry the knowledge which she had stolen from Mira Tricks's mind to them so that they could stop Mira Tricks's diabolical plots.

_Corinth City, Aqua Tunnel 1, mid-afternoon_

"Do you think that it'll work?" Zack asked. Both Billy and Tommy shrugged.

"I don't see why it shouldn't. Our morphers are connected to our Zords so we should be able to call the Dinozords here if they're operational," Billy replied.

"And I'm sure that K. and her technicians have been able to complete the remaining Dinozords by now," Tommy replied. "We'll be able to do this."

"There's just one problem. How are we going to get the hangar doors open?" Kimberly asked.

"That's not a problem," Tommy assured. "The Original Zords, since the Dragonzord is summoned by my Dragon Dagger, are all programmed to, if it is necessary, emit a signal which will open the hangar doors automatically."

There was a few moments of silence.

"There's no point in waiting any longer," Jason finally said. "Everybody get their morphers out."

Everyone obeyed Jason's command instantly and pulled their Power Coins out of their pockets. Then, they got into a circle facing each other and held out their morphers between them. Another moment passed as they all looked at each other with apprehension.

"We can do this, guys," Tommy assured. "We can't afford to let the Hydro Hog destroy Corinth."

"We've_ got _to do this, Tommy, otherwise we're going to be trapped down here forever," Kimberly corrected. "And everyone in Corinth is depending on us to defeat the Hydro Hog. As much as I hate to admit it, the other Rangers just aren't ready for a monster of Hydro Hog's type just yet."

This filled everyone with determination and, in response to their feelings, their Power Coins burst into life.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Dinozord hangar, mid-afternoon, at that very moment_

As soon as the power from the Power Coins reached the three Dinozords, which were stored in the Dinozord hangar, they burst into life. Then, they began to emit an automatic signal to open the hangar door as they went into autopilot mode.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zord Construction Bay, mid-afternoon, also at that very moment_

As soon as the power from the Power Coins reached the other three Dinozords, which had been completed that day in the Zord Construction Bay, they burst into life. Then, they began to emit an automatic signal to open the bay door as they went into autopilot mode.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-afternoon, also at that very moment_

"Zordon! The Dinozords have switched onto autopilot mode and are emitting automatic signals which are opening doors so that they can leave the Brachiozord. Do you wish me to jam the signal?" Cassidy asked as she turned to Zordon.

Zordon, who was a little surprised about this, just shook his head. "No," he replied simply.

"But Zordon..." Devin began.

"Trust me, just let them go," Zordon replied firmly.

"If you say so, Zordon," Cassidy replied with a sigh.

_Corinth City, Corinth Lakeside, mid-afternoon, also at that very moment_

After waiting for a few minutes at the side of the lake for their Zords, Trent and Dominic were relieved when their Zords finally burst through the city shields.

"At last," Dominic sighed in relief. "I was beginning to think that we had yet another problem to contend with."

"Good luck, Dom," RJ said.

"Here, RJ, take Fran. I don't want her getting involved in this battle," Dominic said as he calmly removed Fran from his shoulder and put her into RJ's hands. Fran began to protest at this but RJ shook his head.

"Fran, Dominic is right. I'm afraid that water and mice don't go together," RJ chuckled as his hands gently clasped around Fran. "Sorry..."

"Hey Dominic, come on!" Trent said as he leapt onto the back of his Dragozord. Dominic smiled, turned and rushed onto the back of his Rhino Steel Zord.

"We'll try our best," Trent promised before he leapt into the cockpit of his Dragozord. Then, it combined with the awaiting Stegozord to form the Dino Stegazord as Dominic summoned the Control Dagger.

"Rhino Steel Zord. Transform!" Dominic commanded. It transformed into its Warrior Mode and, after a moment of pause, they rushed into battle with the Hydro Hog.

"We always miss out on all the fun," Gemma complained.

"And all the Booms as well," Gem added.

"I'm not sad about missing this one," Dillon said with a shrug.

"To be honest, neither am I," Scott added. "Hydro Hog isn't like anything that we've ever faced before. It's extremely powerful."

"You doubt your abilities, Rangers, as Venjix was much stronger than the Hydro Hog," RJ murmured as an accidental communication link with the main Command Centre was formed. "It's just that Hydro Hog, if it isn't stopped, could kill us all by draining all the water from the planet."

"What?" Summer said as she turned pale. "It surely isn't..."

"RJ is right. The original Hydro Hog was known as the Emperor of the Dark Waters for this reason," Zordon said as revealed that he was listening into their conversation.

"You say the original does that mean..." Ziggy began.

"Yes, Ziggy, this is not the original Hydro Hog. It is an improved version created by Finster at Lord Zedd's command," Zordon replied.

RJ sighed as he looked up at the ongoing battle between Dominic, Trent and the Hydro Hog. It was clear that the Hydro Hog was winning as the Rhino Steel Zord in Warrior Mode and the Dino Stegazord were already badly damaged.

"We're going to need a miracle to beat this thing, Zordon," RJ warned. Zordon chuckled.

"Do not worry, RJ. I am pretty certain that one is just about to occur," he reassured just as the Dinozords appeared through the shields.

_Corinth City, Aqua Tunnel 1, mid-afternoon, at that very moment_

"Listen!" Billy exclaimed as his concentration was broken by the sound of the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord roaring.

"It worked!" Trini exclaimed as everyone except Jason relaxed and put their morphers back into their pockets. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"If you don't mind..." Jason murmured as he continued to concentrate. Beads of sweat were beginning to form on his forehead.

"Come on, Jason. You can do it..." Tommy urged. At that moment, the roar of the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord grew louder and louder as it began to head towards them.

"Brace yourselves," Billy warned as the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord was about to kick the glass tunnel to shatter it. Jason snapped out of his concentration at that moment as they gathered near to the hole but not near enough to be injured by the glass. As the glass shattered with the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord's kick, water flooded into the tunnel and, in the space of less than a second, it became submerged. Then, the Rangers reacted instantly by swimming out of the tunnel and up to the surface.

_Corinth City, Corinth Lake, mid-afternoon, a few seconds later_

As soon as the Original Rangers surfaced, they found themselves watching as the Rhino Steel Zord in Warrior Mode and the Dino Stegazord were thrown aside by Hydro Hog. Next, they watched as the Dino Stegazord split into the Dragozord and Stegazord on impact. Before, finally, they watched as the Rhino Steel Zord fail to get back up.

"I think that it's our turn," Tommy noted as he took a deep breath. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his Falcon Power Coin. "Tigerzord!" he called as he activated it.

Seconds later, he had morphed and, before the others could say anything, he swam across and climbed onto the back of his Tigerzord.

"Look, it's Dr O.!" Kira exclaimed from where she stood on the bank at the lakeside. Tommy turned to see the Rangers standing at the lakeside and smiled.

"Hey, guys, I'm sorry that we're late," he called back. "Unfortunately, we ended up trapped down in the Aqua Tunnel because of an emergency cave in."

"You? I destroyed you!" Hydro Hog roared.

"You tried," Tommy corrected. "Guys?"

"We're coming Tommy," Jason called in reply as the other Original Rangers morphed and climbed onto the backs of their Zords.

"We're going to need to use our Thunderzords, guys, as we won't be powerful enough to defeat Hydro Hog any other way," Billy yelled.

"Are you stupid? Being struck by lightning could kill us, Billy!" Trini yelled.

"The thunder receptors will draw the lightning into the Zords so we're not going to be in any danger. Watch," Billy replied. "Triceratops Unicorn Thunderzord Power!"

Seconds later, storm clouds gathered. There was an explosion of light and sound as a bolt of lightning struck the Triceratops Dinozord. When the light subsided, the Unicorn Thunderzord stood in place of the Triceratops Dinozord. Miraculously, Billy was still standing unharmed on his Zord's head.

"See, I wish that you would trust me for once!" he exclaimed.

Jason sighed. "Fine. Tyrannosaurus Red Dragon Thunderzord Power!"

"Pterodactyl Firebird Thunderzord Power!" Kimberly called.

"Sabertoothed Tiger Griffin Thunderzord Power!" Trini called after her.

Zack sighed. "I guess, as usual, that I'm last. Mastodon Lion Thunderzord Power!"

Another few seconds later, the remaining Thunderzords stood in place of the respective Dinozords and each of the Original Rangers stood on the heads of their Zords.

"Let's bring them together!" Jason called to the Original Rangers as he leapt into his Thunderzord cockpit. The other Original Rangers then followed suit.

As they began to activate the configurations for the Thunder Megazord, Tommy calmly inserted Saba into the correct slot and reached down to the crystal.

"Activate Warrior Mode," Tommy commanded simply. As the Tigerzord shifted into Warrior Mode, the Thunder Megazord was formed.

"You fools, what makes you think that you'll do any better?" Hydro Hog demanded.

"I was there when Delphine and the Alien Rangers first managed to destroy you, Hydro Hog," Tommy replied. "You may have had a few upgrades since then at Finster's hands but I know about all of your weaknesses."

"He's mostly water so we're going to need to use lightning based attacks if we want to destroy him," Billy added.

"It'll be risky but we've got to try it," Jason warned. "Tommy?"

"We'll strike him at the same time. Get ready," Tommy replied as he avoided one of Hydro Hog's energy blasts. At the same time, the Thunder Megazord avoided another as it drew its sword.

"Billy, how are we going to use a lightning finishing move when the sword only uses fire?" Trini demanded as she turned from where she sat in the cockpit to him.

"I added a modification into the thunder receptors," Tommy replied as Hydro Hog attacked the Tigerzord in Warrior Mode. Tommy blocked this attack and threw Hydro Hog backwards into the water. "It should be able to channel what lightning power remains into the sword but the Thunderzords will become the Dinozords again straight after so, if you miss, we're going to have a problem."

"We've got one chance. We had better use it," Jason said grimly as the Hydro Hog got back up onto its feet. "Now!"

"White Tiger Thunderbolt!" Tommy called as he struck Hydro Hog with a bolt of white lightning which caused a small explosion. At the same time, the Thunder Megazord held its sword ready and, as Hydro Hog reeled away from the Tigerzord in Warrior Mode, the sword became electrified. Then, the Thunder Megazord struck.

"It's over, Hydro Hog," Jason declared as the sword struck the Hydro Hog which squealed as electricity flowed into it from the attack.

"Back! He's about to explode!" Tommy yelled as the Thunder Megazord became the Original Megazord at that moment. Then, at the same time, both the Original Megazord and the Tigerzord in Warrior Mode leapt back as the Hydro Hog exploded. The explosion sent the entire contents of the lake spewing outwards and all of the Rangers who were standing on the bank got completely soaked.

"This is just great," Ziggy complained as he threw a fish off his head back into what little water actually remained in the lake. "The Anti-Ranger protest group are surely going to use this against us now."

_Corinth City, Corinth Lakeside, mid-afternoon, a few minutes later_

A few minutes later, Tommy leapt out of the nearby Tigerzord as it returned to normal and began to make its way back to the Brachiozord. However, along the way, it picked up the badly damaged Dragozord. When he landed on the bank, he laughed helplessly about the fact that everyone was soaking wet as he powered down. Even now, though, Tommy was still completely soaked to the skin anyway so everyone else laughed at him.

"What's so funny?" Jason asked as he and the other Rangers left the Original Megazord as it split apart. On its way back, the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord retrieved the Stegozord and the Rhino Steel Zord as Dominic and Trent, also both soaking wet, came running down the bank. Jason and the other Rangers couldn't help but laugh at this as well.

"Hey! You're as wet as I am," Dominic protested as the Original Rangers powered down. At that moment, Fran, who looked drenched, began to shiver and squeak at the same time. RJ smiled as he pulled out a warm cloth from his pocket, which was the only thing that wasn't wet, and wrapped it around her to keep her warm as he transferred her to Dominic's shoulder.

"Man, I'm just glad that we managed to get out of that tunnel in time to stop Hydro Hog. The damage could have been much, much worse if we hadn't," Tommy sighed.

"What happened to you guys anyway?" Summer asked as she moved her wet hair to one side.

"I managed to cause a cave in to protect us from Hydro Hog's powerful waves," Tommy replied. "Fortunately, we managed to get trapped in the side tunnel and we summoned our Zords to break us out of there when we realised that you would be slightly busy with Hydro Hog."

"We're..." RJ began before he was interrupted by a bang as Zedd appeared in a flash of green light before the Rangers with Squatt and Baboo, as witnesses, at his side.

"Rangers! Yet again you've managed to disrupt my plots despite the fact that the odds were stacked against you," he roared as his Z-Staff began to glow. Tommy instantly quietly summoned his Brachio Morpher and took out the key. Then, he inserted the key in his morpher as Zedd continued with, "This time, though, I'm not going to let you get away with this. I will have my revenge."

At that moment, an arc of green lightning shot at the Rangers but Tommy instantly turned the key in his Brachio Morpher.

"Dino Thunder, power up! Ha!" he called as he morphed into the Black Dino Ranger. Then, he quickly drew his Brachio Staff and dismissed the arc of green lightning to one side.

"You're going to have to get through me first, Zedd," Tommy warned. "As long as I live, I won't let that happen."

"Squatt, Baboo, deal with him," Zedd commanded. Squatt and Baboo shook their heads violently.

"Are you too cowardly to do it yourself, Zedd?" Tommy demanded. Zedd growled as his Z-Staff began to glow.

"Of course not," Zedd countered as he advanced on Tommy. Slowly, Tommy moved to meet him so that the other Rangers wouldn't be in any danger.

"Tommy, don't!" Jason warned. "Zedd's just too powerful for you to take on alone."

Tommy, however, didn't listen. Instead, as Zedd lunged towards him, Tommy met Zedd head on. They fought back and forth, back and forth, with neither of them having any clear advantage and, each time that the Brachio Staff clashed with Zedd's Z-Staff, sparks flew.

"Give up, Tommy Oliver," Zedd growled as they became locked together in a physical struggle. "You know that you will never be able to best me."

"Never!" Tommy replied defiantly as he struggled to hold back Zedd. "I won't let you harm them. Rangers, get out of here!"

"No, Tommy, don't!" Kimberly exclaimed. Her cry instantly broke through Tommy's concentration and Zedd managed to overpower him whilst he was distracted.

At that moment, as Tommy stumbled back from Zedd, he began to feel his teeth ache. Then, in a brilliant flash of white light, Zordon's staff appeared, floating in the air before Tommy, as Zedd growled. At that moment, a gentle breeze swept through the lakeside and, carried upon it, Tommy was sure that he heard Zordon's voice.

_Take up my staff, Tommy. I'm going to send Zedd back to the moon where he belongs but I'm going to need to work through you to do it. _Zordon instructed.

Hesitantly, Tommy reached forward and grasped Zordon's staff as, at the same time, Zedd growled.

"You're alive! But..." Zedd said directly to Zordon.

"I was lucky, Zedd," Tommy found himself replying as the staff began to glow. "It is time for you to go back to the moon where you belong."

"You can't match my power, not even through another, and you know it!" Zedd exclaimed as an arc of green lightning burst forth from his Z-Staff. At the same time, a beam of white light shot forth from Zordon's staff. They met in the middle and there was a colossal bang. For a few moments, Zedd and Zordon battled mentally before Tommy could sense that Zordon was beginning to tire.

_Come on, Zordon..._ Tommy thought. _You've got to beat Zedd. _

"You won't win, old fool!" Zedd hissed as he increased the strength of his magic. This pushed the white light back towards Tommy and Zordon's staff.

"That is what you think," Tommy countered. Then, at that moment, Tommy found himself adding in. "I am much stronger than you, Zedd."

"You're old, Zordon," he countered. "And I can see it in Tommy's eyes that your strength has begun to fail you."

"No..." Tommy began as he felt Zordon begin to weaken even further as the white light continued to be pushed back towards Tommy. "I won't let you win, Zedd."

At that moment, a renewed final powerful beam of white light burst forth from Zordon's staff and completely overcame Zedd's lightning. As soon as it struck Zedd, it imprisoned him into a small portable space dumpster in a flash of white light.

"Lord Zedd!" Baboo panicked instantly as Tommy turned to them.

"Take your master back to the moon where he belongs," Tommy found himself snapping at them. "And make sure that he knows that I will not be so lenient next time we meet."

Squatt and Baboo nodded as they grabbed the small space dumpster and vanished in a flash of green light. At that moment, Zordon's staff vanished as Tommy wearily fell directly to his knees and powered down.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-afternoon, at that very moment_

As soon as Zordon's staff reappeared in the main Command Centre, Zordon groaned and collapsed instantly into unconsciousness upon the floor.

"Zordon!" Cassidy exclaimed as she spun around to him.

_Corinth City, Corinth Lakeside, mid-afternoon_

"Tommy!" Jason said as he and RJ rushed over to help him to his feet. "Are you all right?"

"Thanks to Zordon, I'm fine," Tommy replied wearily. "It just took a lot out of me."

"What just actually happened there?" Kira asked.

Tommy smiled. "Zordon intervened when Zedd managed to overwhelm me," he replied simply. "Somehow, Zordon managed to find the strength to seal him away in a space dumpster so we shouldn't have bother from Zedd for a while."

"Why did he go through you? Why couldn't he have just came here in person to deal with this?" Trini said. "Zordon has completely drained you."

RJ sighed. "Zordon doesn't want Zedd to see how old and frail he really is now."

"And he probably doesn't want to leave himself vulnerable to being sealed away in an energy tube either," Billy added in. "I'm worried about Zordon, guys. If Tommy was exhausted by what Zordon did, I'm sure that he'll be much worse. We should..."

"Rangers! Thank goodness..." Cestria said as she ran onto the scene, completely out of breath, and skidded to a halt before them.

"Cestria, what's wrong?" Kimberly asked instantly.

"I found out about what the Anti-Ranger protest group plans but they found out about who I am. We've got to get out of here before they catch up with me," she replied.

Tommy instantly activated his communicator.

"Cassidy, Devin, get us out of here," Tommy called.

"I'll try to, Dr O.," Devin replied. "Cassidy is trying to tend to Zordon. He just collapsed a minute ago and she's worried for him."

Tommy grimaced as Devin continued. "Prepare for teleportation," he warned just as the shouts of the Anti-Ranger protest group began to reach their ears.

"Any time in the next few seconds would be great, Devin," Ziggy said as the shouts of the Anti-Ranger protest group grew louder and closer.

Seconds later, just before the Anti-Ranger protest group reached the lakeside, the Rangers and Cestria vanished in flashes of coloured light.

_Outside Brachiozord Command Centre, Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1, mid-afternoon_

As the computer terminal began to beep, Hayley looked up to see that the technique which they had used had just broken through and restored the Zords. Both the RPM Zords and the Spirit Zords vanish instantly whilst, at the same time, the Thundersaurus Megazord split into the respective Biozords.

Alpha hastily sent them back to the Dino Thunder Zord hangar as Hayley jumped up and let out a cry of excitement.

"We did it, Alpha!" she said. Alpha nodded.

"Ai, Ai, Ai, Zordon is going to be so pleased with us!" Alpha said. "We had better go tell him!"

With that, Alpha and Hayley ran out of the Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1 and began to head up towards the main Command Centre.

_The Moon, Zedd and Rita's palace, mid-afternoon, at that very moment_

As Finster released Zedd from the space dumpster, Squatt and Baboo were instantly struck with green lightning from within the dumpster. They yelped as Zedd leapt out of the dumpster and Finster turned pale when he saw how angry Zedd was.

"You worthless imbeciles!" Zedd roared at Squatt and Baboo. "How dare you stand by and do nothing whilst I get beaten by an old foolish sage who used Tommy Oliver as his vessel! You should have done something devious to disrupt the sage so that I could've won! Get out of my sight!"

Squatt and Baboo fled instantly as Zedd turned his attention to Finster. "Finster!" he snapped.

"Yes... your evilness..." Finster stuttered in reply.

"Go make me an even more powerful monster!" Zedd commanded. Finster nodded.

"At once," he stuttered in reply again as he fled.

After a few moments alone, Zedd growled. "One day, I'll finally manage to destroy the Power Rangers," he vowed to himself.

_Corinth City, Corinth Lakeside, mid-afternoon, also at that very moment_

As Mira Tricks stood giving instructions to the various members of the Anti-Ranger protest group, she was secretly extremely angry.

_How dare they send a spy to find out about what I'm up to? Fortunately, as far as I can tell, she was only bluffing when she said that she had found out about my plans as no one seems to have told her anything. Still..._ She thought silently for a moment. Then, she shook herself. _No, she can't have found anything out. I'm just going to stick to the original plan. When, five o'clock comes..._

_Corinth City, in the basement of one of the thirteen apartment blocks, mid-afternoon, also at that exact moment_

_Two Thirty... Two Thirty-One... Two Thirty-Two..._

As the clock on the device hidden amongst the rubbish bins grew ever closer to five, the Rangers had no idea at that moment that their time was running out.


	26. Chapter 16: Explosive Countdown

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 16: Explosive Countdown

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zordon's bedroom, mid-afternoon, a few minutes later, Two Thirty-Five_

"Gently does it," Tommy warned as he, RJ and Jason gently lowered the unconscious Zordon onto the bed.

RJ and Jason sighed grimly as they stood there. "We had better get down to the Ranger Planning Room," RJ said as he and Jason moved to the door.

"Aren't you coming, Tommy?" Jason asked. Tommy looked up from where he stood at the other side of the bed from where Jason and RJ had been a few moments before and smiled grimly.

"I'll be along in a few minutes," he assured. "Go on ahead without me."

They nodded and left. Tommy stood there for a few moments before he slowly began to make his way towards the door.

However, before he could leave, Zordon subconsciously called to him telepathically to wait. Tommy turned.

"Zordon?" he said aloud.

_Tommy... _Zordon called again in reply. Tommy blinked as he realised that, because Zordon's mouth hadn't moved, he had been communicating telepathically. Tommy's teeth began to ache again.

"You shouldn't be doing this, Zordon," Tommy said quietly. "You're just draining yourself even further by communicating with me telepathically."

Tommy thought that he could sense Zordon's amusement about this fact but, before he could ask about it, Zordon continued.

_It does not take much energy to do this, Tommy. _Zordon thought as he lay there. _And, before you ask, it is really necessary for me to do this. Something utterly tragic could be about to occur and, in order for you to survive through it if it does, you are going to need something which only I can provide you with now._

At that moment, Zordon's staff began to glow with a golden tinge as, at the same time, there was a brilliant flash of white light which caused Tommy to look away. When it subsided, Tommy turned back to a sight which stunned him.

"It can't be... Zordon, you can't be serious... I can't..." Tommy began. He was completely struggling for words as he gazed at the object which was now floating in the air above Zordon. It was the Shield of Triumph.

_I am afraid that I am, Tommy. _Zordon replied. _You will need it in order to survive._

"Zordon, I can't take the Shield of Triumph. It was, and always will be, an object which only Conner McKnight can control," Tommy replied.

_In the beginning, it was an object in which some of the other Powers of Good and I invested some of their powers into. Although Conner McKnight is the one destined to wield it, it can be used in a limited fashion by all those like me who possess a decent amount of power to control it. _Zordon thought as he paused for a moment. Then, he continued._ However, you know as well as I do that you possess more than enough power to use the Shield of Triumph completely if you so wish._

"But Zordon, I can't..." Tommy began. "You know that I haven't awakened fully yet."

_I know but I am afraid that you are going to have to attempt it. Although I cannot see very well into the future, I can see a few snatches here and there whilst I am unconscious or asleep. As I said, I have seen that you will need the Shield of Triumph in order to survive. You must take it, Tommy. _Zordon urged as his mental voice began to fade. _And you must believe_...

"Believe what? Zordon!" Tommy exclaimed but Zordon didn't reply. Tommy sighed.

_Well... if I'm going to need it to survive then I had best take it with me. Even if I am unsure if I can wield it... _Tommy thought as he stared at the Shield of Triumph which was still floating in the air above Zordon. He waited another few moments before he took up the Shield of Triumph and, by using his belt, strapped it to his back. Then, he turned and left the room to head straight to the Ranger Planning Room.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, mid-afternoon, another few minutes later, Two Forty_

"...You can't be serious, Cestria! Mira Tricks wouldn't dare..." Colonel Truman, who appeared as a holographic image in the centre of the table again, exclaimed after Cestria had told everyone what she had seen in Mira Tricks's mind. The Rangers and their associated non-Rangers were quiet. It was clear to Cestria that they had never expected Mira Tricks to go so far in her quest to rid Corinth of them. Even Tommy was quite stunned by what Mira Tricks was up to.

"There _are_ nine bombs hidden in amongst thirteen apartment blocks in Corinth which are linked by a cross on a map of Corinth, Colonel Truman, and they _are_ scheduled to go off at five o'clock today," Cestria stated firmly. "Trust me."

"That's almost two hours away," Tommy grimaced. "We haven't got a lot of time to stop her in."

"I'll send all the security officers from the Corinth Defence Force that I can spare. We'll have all the buildings evacuated..." Colonel Truman began before the holographic image of Vasquez appeared on-screen.

"Sir, I'm afraid that Mira Tricks is back with the Anti-Ranger protest group and, unfortunately, they're holding us in here," she said grimly. Colonel Truman instantly became grim.

"Don't worry, Colonel Truman, I'll send some of the Rangers down there to distract them so that you can send out as many teams of the Corinth Defence Force as you can," Tommy assured. "Trent, Kira, I know that this is a big task but, because you're the only ones besides myself who can ride Raptor Riders, I've got no other choice. Would you be willing to distract Mira Tricks and the Anti-Ranger protest group whilst we try to find and defuse the bombs?"

Kira and Trent looked at each other for a moment before they nodded.

"We'll do it, Dr O.," Trent replied.

Tommy smiled. "Thanks," he said simply to them before he turned his attention back to Colonel Truman.

"So they're going to be dealing with the protest group but we've still got a number of other problems. We're short on water and..." Colonel Truman began.

"The water shortage won't be a problem, Colonel," Tommy replied. "I'm going to send the Brachiozord to the sea to fill up its massive water storage tanks. It will purify all of the water it collects in less than half of an hour but it will take a long time to get back to Corinth. With full water tanks, it can't transform into jet mode so it will have to walk all the way back. So, if it leaves at three o'clock, it won't be back until four. Then, it will take it about five to ten minutes for it to fill up the lake completely."

Tommy paused for a moment and Dr K. spoke up. "At Alphabet Soup, they did teach me how to defuse bombs amongst other things. However, I've never done it in real life before..." she began.

"All we can ask is that you try to defuse the bombs, K.," Tommy said gently. "I'm sure that Colonel Truman won't have any bomb disposal experts in his Corinth Defence Force and, although they're technical geniuses, Billy and Hayley haven't had any bomb disposal training so we're completely relying upon you K."

"I know," she said quietly.

"So what about the rest of us?" Scott asked.

"We're going to split up into three search teams of four whilst Ziggy, Gem and Gemma get the most important task. They'll guard Dr K. and take her to the apartment blocks where we do find bombs. The rest of the RPM Power Rangers will go in one group. You'll take these four apartment blocks," Tommy began as he called up the map of Corinth and circled four of the apartment blocks on the cross for them to see.

"Jason, RJ, Kimberly, you're with me. We'll take these apartment blocks here," he continued as he circled another four apartment blocks. "And we take this isolated one here as well."

"And the rest of us?" Billy asked.

"The remaining Rangers are going to take these apartment blocks here," Tommy said as he circled the final four apartment blocks. "Everyone else is going to stay in the Brachiozord where it's safe."

"Cestria and I will tend to Zordon," Alpha said as he looked to Cestria. Cestria nodded to confirm this.

"Cassidy, Devin, you're in charge of the main Command Centre," Tommy said grimly. "And Hayley will be keeping an eye on you."

"Tenaya and I will deal with the damaged Zords," Anton sighed.

"Anton, I want you to concentrate on getting the Dragozord operational for me. Forget all about the Rhino Steel Zord and Stegazord for now because, if any of the bombs do go off, we're going to need aerial Zords such as the Dragozord and Pterazord to rescue anyone trapped on the upper floors," Tommy replied before he sighed.

"We can't afford to waste any time now," he continued. "We've got to do our best to thwart Mira Tricks's diabolical plot as fast as we can. Remember that we're going to have to evacuate the apartment blocks one by one so that we don't attract Mira Tricks's attention but, when we've only got half an hour left, we'll switch to evacuating all the remaining ones. Remember to search every floor and every possible hiding place until you've either found the bomb or are sure that there's not one there. There will only be one bomb in nine of the thirteen apartment blocks and, when you've found them, you must call Dr K. immediately. You mustn't hesitate and you mustn't touch the device either in case you accidentally set it off."

"Good luck, Rangers," Alpha said grimly. "I'm sure that, if Zordon was awake, he would tell you that he has a great deal of faith in you. We all know that you'll try your best to stop Mira Tricks's diabolical plot."

"But will our best be enough?" Summer asked. "We might not..."

"Don't think like that," Tommy snapped before he sighed. "I'm sorry but the best is all we can do right now. We had better go."

Without another word, the Rangers and associated non-Rangers left the Ranger Planning Room.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Three O'Clock_

Tommy was the last one to come up to the main Command Centre and, as he walked over to where RJ, Jason and Kimberly had gathered, he didn't realise that the Tiger Power Coin had slipped out one of his pockets.

"Prepare for teleportation," Devin warned.

Seconds later, the Power Rangers vanished in flashes of light. Alpha then sighed as he went over to the controls beside Devin.

"Everybody just hold on tight," he warned everyone who remained in the Command Centre as he hit the button to convert the Brachiozord to jet mode. "It's going to be a bumpy ride."

_Corinth City, in an alleyway just outside the Corinth Defence Force Headquarters, late afternoon, a few seconds later, Three O'Clock_

"Are you ready, Kira?" Trent asked as his Drago Morpher appeared on his wrist. She nodded as her Yellow Dino Morpher followed suit.

"Dino Thunder, power up! Ha!" she called as she activated her morpher.

"White Ranger, Dino Power!" Trent called as he activated his morpher.

Then, they morphed just as their Raptor Riders were teleported to their side.

"How are we going to distract them anyway?" Kira asked.

"I think that our very presence should be enough," Trent replied as he jumped onto the back of his Raptor Rider. Kira followed suit. "Just follow my lead."

With that, Trent spurred his Raptor Rider into action and manoeuvred it onto the roof of a nearby building which had a clear view of the Corinth Defence Force headquarters with Kira close behind him.

"Hey, Mira! Over here!" Trent yelled as soon as he and Kira were in position. Instantly, the entire Anti-Ranger protest group fell silent and turned towards Trent and Kira.

"Rangers!" Mira Tricks growled.

"We heard that you were looking for us, Mira Tricks," Kira called. "Well, here we are. Catch us if you can."

"After them!" Mira Tricks exclaimed as both Trent and Kira wheeled their Raptor Riders around and fled the scene. The entire Anti-Ranger protest group soon followed in pursuit and, as they fled, Kira sighed.

"Let's hope that we can buy the others enough time," she called to Trent as they fled through the streets of Corinth with Mira Tricks and the Anti-Ranger protest group in close pursuit.

_Corinth City, Corinth Defence Force Headquarters, late afternoon, a few seconds later, Five Minutes Past Three_

"They're gone, sir," Corporal Hicks reported as he entered the room. Colonel Truman nodded and turned to the three large teams of security officers who were waiting to go help the Rangers.

"Go, go, go!" he commanded. The three leaders of the teams nodded.

"Yes sir!" they exclaimed with a salute. Then, they turned to their teams and gave the command to leave. As soon as they had left in their patrol vehicles, Colonel Truman sighed.

"I just hope that we're not already too late to stop Mira Tricks's diabolical plot, Hicks," he said. Corporal Hicks nodded.

"So do I, sir," he replied. "So do I."

_Corinth City, inside the first of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Three Ten_

"You must be Dr Oliver. It's an honour to be working with you today, sir," the leader of the large team of security officers said with a salute as he met up with Tommy, RJ, Jason and Kimberly inside the first of the thirteen apartment blocks. "I'm Corporal Roberts."

Tommy sighed. "You don't have to salute," he said simply in reply.

"Yes, sir!" Corporal Roberts replied before he turned to his security officers. "All right, you know our objective. Let's get everybody out of here."

His security officers nodded and produced the megaphones. Then, the security officers began to evacuate the apartment block.

"This is Corporal Roberts from the Corinth Defence Force. This a mandatory evacuation order to clear this apartment block. This is not a drill," Corporal Roberts called through a megaphone which he had brought with him. "I repeat, this is not a drill. All citizens in this apartment block are urged not to panic and to safely make their way outside to the evacuation point in an orderly fashion."

It took a few moments before a few people started to stream out of their apartments. Tommy sighed when he noticed that the majority of people weren't listening to them.

"You're going to have to be more convincing, Corporal," Tommy warned as they continued.

He nodded in reply. "I'm afraid that we're going to have to frighten people out of their apartment blocks, Dr Oliver. I know that you wanted to..."

Tommy shook his head. "Saving lives is our first priority, Corporal. You've got my permission to do whatever it takes to get all the people out of here."

Corporal Roberts sighed. "This is Corporal Roberts from the Corinth Defence Force. This is a mandatory evacuation order to clear this apartment block. We believe that there could be a bomb somewhere in the block. I repeat, we believe that they're could be a bomb somewhere in the block," he called. "This is not a drill. All citizens in this apartment block are urged not to panic and to safely make their way outside to the evacuation point in an orderly fashion."

This time, floods of people fled from their apartment blocks and Tommy smiled.

"Much better, Corporal," he replied simply as he and the other Rangers present sighed. "Now, we had better do our job and start searching this apartment block."

Without another word, Tommy and the Rangers began to search the first apartment block.

_Corinth City, inside the second of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, at that very moment, Three Ten_

"This is the Corinth Defence Force. This a mandatory evacuation order to clear this apartment block. We believe that there could be a bomb somewhere in the block. I repeat, we believe that they're could be a bomb somewhere in the block," Vasquez called. "This is not a drill. All citizens in this apartment block are urged not to panic and to safely make their way outside to the evacuation point in an orderly fashion."

As many people fled from their apartments at this, Zack smiled at Vasquez.

"You're good at this," he complimented. She shrugged.

"I've been preparing for this that's why," she replied grimly.

As soon as the flow of people stopped, Vasquez sighed.

"I had better keep going up the apartment block," she said.

Then, she commanded as she headed upstairs. "Start searching for the devices."

With a sigh, the three Original Rangers and Dominic began to search the apartment block at her command.

_Corinth City, inside the third of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, also at that very moment, Three Ten_

"Give it here, man," Flynn said to the bumbling Captain that they had been landed with. So far, he had failed to convince anyone to leave the apartment block. "This is the RPM Power Rangers. If you won't listen to the bumbling idiot then listen to us. We believe that there could be a bomb somewhere in the block and, if you don't evacuate immediately, you're risking your own lives."

He paused for a moment. "It's your choice," he said simply.

There was a few moments of silence before people started to stream out of their apartments.

"Nice job, Flynn," Scott said with a smile.

"Yeah, nice job, Flynn," Dillon agreed. "Now, we've got to start searching this place for the bomb."

Summer nodded. "Let's get started then," she said with a smile as she began to look around. Scott, Dillon and Flynn sighed before they soon joined her in searching as Flynn continued to sound the evacuation call.

_Corinth City, inside the first of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Three Fifteen_

"Tommy..." RJ called as he spotted the bomb hidden away in the corner. "I've found it."

Tommy, who was searching away nearby, turned and instantly came over to RJ. When he looked at the device, he turned pale.

"It's live," he confirmed as he activated his communicator. "Ziggy, bring Dr K. over here. We've found one."

"Are you sure?" Dr K. asked through the communication link.

"Oh yes, we're sure," RJ replied as he watched the countdown clock.

_Three Fifteen... Three Sixteen... Three Seventeen..._

"You had better hurry," Tommy said. "Tommy out."

Then, he deactivated the communication link.

"Now, we have to wait for K.," RJ said grimly.

"Yes," Tommy replied. "I'll guard this bomb whilst you fetch Kimberly and Jason. Pass the word to Corporal Roberts that this is a live one but make sure that the people don't hear about this. I don't want to start widespread panic."

RJ nodded. "I think that it is too late for that, though."

_Corinth City, inside the second of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Three Twenty_

"Nothing," Billy said as they finished searching the entire apartment block. They were now standing outside the apartment block in a huddled group. "This is obviously not one of the apartment blocks we're looking for."

Trini sighed. "Pass the word around that it was a false alarm here. We're leaving for the next apartment block," she called grimly.

Billy went over to Vasquez. "False alarm. This isn't one of the apartment blocks with the bombs in them," he said grimly to her.

Vasquez nodded as she activated her megaphone."This is the Corinth Defence Force. It appears that this has been a false alarm. I repeat, it appears that this has been..."

_Corinth City, inside the third of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, at that very moment, Three Twenty_

"We've searched the whole block. Nothing," Dillon said grimly as he banged his fist on the outside wall of the apartment block in frustration as they stood there conferring. "There's obviously not a bomb in this one."

"I'll pass the word that it's a false alarm whilst you get ready to go," Flynn said as he took up the megaphone. "This is the RPM Power Rangers. It appears that this has been a false alarm. I repeat, it appears that this has been..."

_Corinth City, inside the first of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Three Twenty-Five_

"Where is it?" Dr K. asked as she appeared in a flash of green light with Gem, Gemma and Ziggy in the middle of the corridor. Everyone was holding on tightly to Ziggy.

"Here, K.," Tommy called. She approached it hesitantly and took a look at.

"We're fortunate that this one isn't a complex bomb. If I..." she began as she pulled out a pair of wire-cutters which she had brought with her. Then, hesitantly, she began to work on the bomb whilst remembering what Alphabet Soup had taught her.

A few tense seconds later, the device gave a satisfying beep as it deactivated. Tommy took a deep breath.

"It's harmless now," K. said as she took a deep breath and backed away.

"Go K.," Gem and Gemma cheered as Tommy carefully picked up the deactivated bomb.

"Ziggy, you had best get K. out of here now," he warned as he began to walk away. "I'll get Corporal Roberts to send somebody back to the Corinth Defence Force Headquarters with this so that they can dispose of it safely."

"Wait, Dr Oliver!" Dr K. exclaimed. Tommy stopped and turned. "What on earth is that shield on your back for?"

Tommy smiled at her. "I hope that I don't find out," he replied cryptically as he turned back and continued walking. At that moment, Ziggy took Gem, Gemma and Dr K. and vanished.

Outside, Corporal Roberts awaited him.

"Well?" he asked.

"The threat has been neutralised," Tommy replied simply as a security officer came over to him.

"I'll take that, sir," the security officer said calmly. Tommy gently passed him the bomb and he left as Corporal Roberts activated his megaphone.

Corporal Roberts sighed. "This is Corporal Roberts from the Corinth Defence Force. I'm happy to report that the threat to this apartment block has been neutralised and that you're now free to return to your homes. I repeat, I'm happy to report that the threat to this apartment block has been neutralised and that you're now free to return to your homes," he called. "Have a nice day."

Tommy sighed as Corporal Roberts deactivated the megaphone just as people began to filter back into their apartments.

"To the next apartment block?" Jason suggested as he came over. Tommy nodded.

"Yes. Let's get out of here," he agreed. "I don't want the media to catch up with us."

_Corinth City, inside the fourth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Three Thirty_

"Here we go again," Dominic grimaced as they entered their second apartment block.

Vasquez sighed as she prepared herself for a long monotonous speech again. Then, she activated the megaphone.

"This is the Corinth Defence Force..." she began again.

_Corinth City, inside the fifth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, at that very moment, Three Thirty_

"I'll take that," Flynn said as he snatched the megaphone back from the bumbling Captain. "Go do something useful, man, and let us deal with this."

"But..." the bumbling Captain began.

"Just go," Scott snapped. The bumbling Captain fled.

Flynn sighed. "This is the RPM Power Rangers..." he began.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, late afternoon, also at that very moment, Three Thirty_

"Hold on tightly!" Devin warned as he took the Brachiozord out of jet mode on the shore.

As soon as it had landed, Hayley began to furiously type in the commands for it to absorb as much sea water as it could. Once she had typed in the commands, she sat back in the chair she was sitting in at the console.

"Hayley, how long will it take?" Cassidy asked.

She sighed. "No more than a few minutes," she replied as Anton appeared on-screen.

"I just thought that I would give you a status update to pass those few moments," he said with a smile. "Repairs have fixed over 70% of the damage to the Dragozord already. Dr K.'s nanotechnology has made the repairs much easier to complete. All we've got to do now is replace the Zord Controls circuit and we'll have it completely fixed."

"Anton I need a bit of help here!" they heard Tenaya 15 call to him. "This Zord Controls circuit has practically welded itself into place and I can't remove it."

Anton sighed. "I've got to go, Hayley. Once we've got this fixed, I'll come up to give you a hand in the main Command Centre," he promised. He shut down the video link just as a message appeared on-screen to confirm that they had absorbed all the sea water that the Brachiozord could hold.

"We're out of here," Hayley declared. Then, just as Alpha came into the main Command Centre, she began to steer the Brachiozord towards Corinth.

"How's Zordon, Alpha?" Cassidy asked. Alpha sighed.

"He's still unconscious and is likely to remain so for a while yet," Alpha replied grimly. "What about us?"

"The Brachiozord is currently purifying the water. Our ETA for Corinth is four o'clock," Devin replied.

"Let's just hope that the Rangers are having as much luck as we are right now," Alpha sighed as he gazed out at the surrounding desert. Everyone else soon followed his gaze.

_Corinth City, inside the sixth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Three Thirty-Five_

"Are you ready?" Corporal Roberts asked Tommy and the other Rangers as they arrived at their second apartment block.

They nodded in reply.

"Let's just get this over with," Tommy said grimly. "We can't afford to waste any time."

Corporal Roberts nodded as he activated his megaphone. "This is Corporal Roberts from the Corinth Defence Force..." he began.

_Corinth City, inside the fourth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Three Forty_

"Guys, there is a device on this floor, I know it," Dominic said as they reached the final floor of the fifth apartment block.

Billy turned to him. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Dominic nodded. "Yes. I don't know where it is, though," he replied.

Zack, who had taken a look around since Dominic had began talking, grimaced. "He's right. It's over here, guys," he said as he gestured to them to come over to the ventilation shaft that he was looking at. When they did, they saw the bomb hidden inside it.

Hesitantly, Dominic tore away the grille so that K. would be able to get to the bomb to defuse it as Billy activated his communicator.

"Ziggy. We've found one of the bombs," Billy called. "We're on the top floor of the fourth apartment block."

"Is it live?" K. asked.

"Oh yeah," Zack said as he heard the device beep away. "It's a live one."

"I'll be right over," Ziggy promised as he cut off the communication link.

Billy sighed. "Trini, inform Vasquez that we've found one of the bombs up here," he said grimly. "Dominic, Zack, you had better get as far away as possible from it. I'll stand guard until K. comes."

They nodded and left to do his bidding. Billy sighed as he gazed at the countdown clock.

_Three Forty-One... Three Forty-Two... Three Forty-Three..._

Time was slowly beginning to run out for them.

_Corinth City, inside the fifth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, Three Forty-Five_

"Aha," Flynn exclaimed as soon as he spotted the bomb hidden amongst cardboard boxes on the floor that they were searching. "Guys, over here!"

Dillon, Scott and Summer instantly rushed over and, as soon as they saw the bomb, they grimaced.

"Call Ziggy," Scott commanded. Dillon nodded and activated the communicator in his Rev Morpher.

"You've found one too?" Ziggy asked as soon as the communication link came on-line.

"Yeah," Flynn replied. "And it's live."

"Of course it's going to be a live one," Dr K. snapped. "It's a bomb, you idiot."

Ziggy sighed. "We'll be there as soon as we can. Ziggy out," he said as he deactivated the communication link.

"What now?" Summer asked.

"Now, Summer, we wait," Scott said as he leaned against the wall.

_Corinth City, inside the fourth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, at that very moment, Three Forty-Five_

As Ziggy appeared with Gem, Gemma and Dr K., Billy sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness," he said. "It's over here, Dr K.."

Dr K. instantly rushed over and quickly examined the bomb.

"It's exactly like that other one," Dr K. noted. "Which means that..."

She snipped a few wires and, after a few seconds, the device gave a satisfying beep like the last one she had defused.

"There, that's it deactivated," she declared. "I trust that you'll get the Corinth Defence Force to take it away?"

Billy nodded as he hesitantly lifted the deactivated bomb out of the ventilation shaft.

"Thanks, K.," he smiled.

"You're welcome," she replied as everyone held onto Ziggy. "Call us if you need us again."

With that, Ziggy, Dr K., Gem and Gemma vanished in a flash of green light as Billy began to make his way out of the fourth apartment block.

Outside, Dominic, Trini and Zack were waiting for him.

"Well?" Trini asked.

"The threat has been neutralised," Billy confirmed. "Vasquez?"

"Yes, sir?" Vasquez instinctively replied from where she stood nearby.

"Find your most trusted security officer and send them back to the Corinth Defence Force Headquarters with this," Billy replied as he passed her the bomb.

She nodded. Then, he turned back to Zack, Trini and Dominic.

"Let's go, guys," he said grimly. "We've still got another two buildings to search with just over an hour to do so."

They nodded and, together, began to make their way to their third apartment block.

_Corinth City, inside the fifth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Three Fifty_

The RPM Power Rangers were beginning to get nervous around the bomb.

"What's taking them so long?" Flynn exclaimed.

"They're probably dealing with another bomb right now," Summer replied. "They'll be along soon enough."

"That's it... I..." Scott began as Ziggy, Dr K., Gem and Gemma reappeared in front of them.

"Sorry for making you wait but we had to deal with another bomb elsewhere," Dr K. apologised. "Where is it?"

"It's here, K.," Dillon replied as he pointed to the bomb hidden amongst the cardboard boxes. She nodded.

"Stand back," she commanded. Everyone instantly obeyed her command as she took a good look at the bomb.

"This one is exactly like the last two which I've defused," she noted. "Which means that..."

She snipped a few wires again and, after a few seconds, the device gave a satisfying beep like the last two she had defused.

"Problem resolved," she said as she took up the deactivated bomb from its resting place and pressed it into Flynn's hands. "I trust that you'll be able to deal with this?"

"I've got just the person to send to the Corinth Defence Force Headquarters," Flynn grinned evilly.

"Good. Then, we're leaving. Ziggy?" Dr K. said simply as she turned to Ziggy. Ziggy nodded.

"Let's get out of here," he agreed as Gem, Gemma and Dr K. held onto them. Seconds later, they vanished.

The remaining RPM Rangers sighed.

"Right, let's get out of here. I want to get rid of that useless idiot as quickly as possible now," Flynn declared. The other RPM Power Rangers nodded. Then, as quickly as possible, they began to make their way downstairs and out of the apartment block.

Outside, the bumbling Captain awaited them. When he saw the deactivated bomb in Flynn's hands, he turned pale.

"So the threat is really..." the bumbling Captain began.

"Yes, there are bombs hidden away in the apartment blocks," Scott said grimly. "And the threat of them going off at five o'clock is real."

"And you're going to be taking this one back to the Corinth Defence Force Headquarters, man," Flynn said as he unceremoniously dumped the deactivated bomb into the bumbling Captain's hands.

"But I can't..." he stuttered.

"You can and will. That bomb, although deactivated, is very, very dangerous," Scott said. "If it fell into the wrong hands, there could be a disaster. As the senior ranking officer here, you're the only one qualified enough to handle it. Take it back to the Corinth Defence Force Headquarters and, if there's enough time, meet us at the fourth apartment block."

The bumbling captain nodded and left. Then, Flynn activated the megaphone.

"This is the RPM Power Rangers. We're happy to report that the threat to this apartment block has been neutralised and that you're now free to return to your homes. I repeat, we're happy to report that the threat to this apartment block has been neutralised and that you're now free to return to your homes," he called. "Have a nice day."

As soon as he deactivated the megaphone, he sighed.

"Let's go, guys. I don't want to be here when the media shows up," Dillon warned.

"Aye, neither do I," Flynn added grimly.

"They're going to have a field day about this," Scott grimaced.

"Let your dad handle them," Summer replied. "Come on."

Without another word, the RPM Power Rangers left for their third apartment block.

_Corinth City, inside the sixth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, at that very moment, Three Fifty_

"Well, RJ?" Tommy asked as they stood together just in the entry hall of the sixth apartment block.

"I know that there isn't a bomb here," RJ said grimly. "We've searched every floor and I haven't had any sort of feeling that there has been a bomb on a floor yet."

Tommy nodded. "Then, there mustn't be a bomb here," he said finally.

"But Tommy, I might be wrong..." RJ began.

Tommy shook his head. "I doubt that very much," he said. "Corporal Roberts?"

Corporal Roberts, who had been standing nearby, came over.

"Yes, sir?" he asked.

"Sound the false alarm. Let's get over to the next apartment block over the road," Tommy commanded.

"Yes, sir!" Corporal Roberts replied as they left the sixth apartment block.

Outside, Corporal Roberts activated his megaphone.

"This is Corporal Roberts from the Corinth Defence Force. It appears that this has been a false alarm. I repeat, it appears that this has been..." he began.

_Corinth City, inside the seventh of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Three Fifty-Five_

"Let's hope that this isn't another false alarm, Corporal," Kimberly said grimly as they entered their third apartment block. "Our time is beginning to run out."

Corporal Roberts nodded. "I hope that it isn't a false alarm too, ma'am. I desperately want to find these bombs as quickly as possible."

"So do I," Tommy added. "I don't want so many innocent lives to be lost just because of Mira Tricks vendetta against us."

"Neither do I, Tommy," RJ added. "It would be a tragedy if that happened."

Corporal Roberts activated his megaphone at that moment and coughed so that they would be quiet as he needed to concentrate.

Then, he began his speech yet again with, "This is Corporal Roberts from the Corinth Defence Force..."

_Corinth City, inside the eighth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, at that very moment, Three Fifty-Five_

"Ok, Vasquez?" Billy said as they entered their third apartment block.

"I'm ready," she said as she nodded in reply whilst she activated her megaphone. "This is the Corinth Defence Force..." she began yet again.

_Corinth City, inside the ninth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, at that very moment, Three Fifty-Five_

"Here we go again," Flynn said as he cleared his throat whilst they entered their third apartment block.

"Look at it this way, Flynn," Dillon said grimly. "After we've done this apartment block, we're only going to have one more block to search. Then, we can return to the Brachiozord."

Flynn activated the megaphone. "I suppose," he replied before he sighed. "This is the RPM Power Rangers..." he began yet again.

_Outside Corinth City, near to the Lake inside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Four O'Clock_

"Yes!" Hayley exclaimed. "Devin, begin pumping the purified water out of the Brachiozord and into the lake."

"Yes, Hayley," Devin replied as he activated the necessary commands. Seconds later, the Brachiozord carefully created a hole through the shields and began to pump water back into the lake. At that moment, Anton appeared on-screen.

"Good news, we've completely repaired the Dragozord down here," he said with a smile.

Hayley nodded. "We've started to pump water back into the lake. It's going to take us about forty-five minutes to completely fill the lake, though."

"Tenaya 15 and I are going to come straight back up to the Command Centre right now," Anton said. "We'll see you in a few minutes."

With that, Anton deactivated the video link and Hayley sighed. However, before she could relax, a warning message appeared on-screen that the shield frequency was being altered around them.

Hayley grimaced. Just like Cestria had said would happen, the shield frequency had been altered around them to prevent anyone from teleporting from the Brachiozord to Corinth City and vice versa.

"What should we do about the shields, Hayley?" Cassidy asked.

"Nothing," she replied. "There's nothing that we can do."

"But surely..." Devin began.

"Hayley's right, Rangers," Alpha replied. "There's nothing that we can do. The Rangers are on their own now."

"We can, though, hope that they can defuse all of the bombs before it's too late," Hayley added grimly as she looked out to the peaceful Corinth City. Little did she realise at that moment that it wouldn't be so peaceful for much longer.

_Corinth City, somewhere in the streets of Corinth City, late afternoon, at that very moment, Four O'Clock_

"They're catching up with us!" Kira warned as she looked back for a moment to see the Anti-Ranger protest group hot on their tails as the Raptor Riders continued to flee through the streets of Corinth. Trent sighed.

"At least they're still following us," Trent replied. "We've been distracting them for an hour now and, so far, they don't suspect that they're being tricked."

"I know. They're so gullible," Kira agreed as Trent veered into a nearby alleyway just as they turned the corner. Kira followed quickly behind him and, after another few minutes, so did the Anti-Ranger protest group with Mira Tricks at its front.

"Let's just hope that they remain this gullible for a while yet," Trent said grimly. "However, I don't know how long that we'll be able to keep this up for. I don't think that the Raptor Riders will be able to last much longer."

"Let's just hope that they last for a while yet," Kira said as the Raptor Riders turned onto another street with the Anti-Ranger protest group following close behind them.

_Corinth City, inside the seventh of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Five Minutes Past Four_

"Tommy!" Kimberly yelled as she spotted the bomb hidden underneath the stairwell. "Over here!"

Tommy, from where he was searching another part of the stairwell, instantly rushed over to her. When he saw the bomb, he sighed.

"Tell RJ and Jason that we've found another one," he told her grimly. "I'll call Ziggy and Dr K. over here."

Kimberly nodded and left. Then, Tommy activated his communicator.

"This is Tommy, Ziggy..." he began.

_Corinth City, inside the eighth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, at that very moment, Five Minutes Past Four_

"Is that..." Trini began as she spotted something hidden amongst a pile of wood at the end of the corridor. She hesitantly approached and, when she saw that it was a bomb, she turned pale. "Billy..." she called.

Billy, who had been searching nearby, instantly rushed over to her. When he saw the bomb, he grimaced.

"You've got good eyesight, Trini," he said. "I wouldn't have been able to spot it because of how well it appears to have been concealed."

"I'll call Ziggy," Dominic said as he too came over. "You both had best find Zack and tell him that we found it. I'll need your communicator, though, Billy."

Billy and Trini nodded. Then, as they left, Billy handed over his communicator to Dominic. Dominic sighed as he activated the communicator.

"This is Dominic, Ziggy..." he began.

_Corinth City, inside the ninth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, at that very moment, Five Minutes Past Four_

"Guys..." Summer began as soon as she spotted the bomb hidden beside a flower pot. "I've found one of the bombs."

Everyone instantly rushed over.

"Aye, that's a bomb all right," Flynn said grimly. Scott elbowed him.

"You're stating the obvious," Scott said as Dillon activated the communicator built into his morpher.

"This is Dillon, Ziggy..." Dillon began.

_Corinth City, inside the seventh of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Seven Minutes Past Four_

When Ziggy appeared with Dr K., Gem and Gemma, he was quite dizzy and Gem and Gemma had to support him.

"Are you all right, Ziggy?" Tommy asked with concern.

"I'm just fine. I think that the fact that I got calls from both Dominic and Dillon in mid-teleportation knocked my concentration a bit. Just give me a few minutes," he replied as he took a deep breath. Dr K. instantly went over to the bomb.

"This one is slightly different than the last three that I've defused," she noted. "It's not as complex which means that, if I snip this wire..."

She instantly snipped a single wire and the device gave that same satisfying beep like the last three had.

"It's all yours, Tommy," she said as she dumped the deactivated bomb into his hands. Tommy nodded.

"Thanks K.," he said with a smile before he looked to Ziggy with concern again as he struggled to snap out of his dizziness. "Are you sure that you're all right, Ziggy?"

Ziggy nodded. "I'll be fine," he replied as Dr K., Gem and Gemma held onto him. Then, they vanished.

Tommy sighed. Then, he made his way outside to Corporal Roberts.

"I'll take that again, sir!" the security officer who had taken the last bomb away said as he took the deactivated bomb off of Tommy and left.

"Corporal Roberts?" Tommy asked. Corporal Roberts smiled as he picked up his megaphone and activated it.

"This is Corporal Roberts from the Corinth Defence Force. I'm happy to report that the threat to this apartment block has been neutralised and that you're now free to return to your homes. I repeat, I'm happy to report that the threat to this apartment block has been neutralised and that you're now free to return to your homes," he called. "Have a nice day."

Corporal Roberts then deactivated his megaphone as people filtered back into their apartment blocks.

"We had better get going. The next apartment block is only a few minutes away," Tommy sighed as he went over to RJ, Jason and Kimberly. Then, they began to make their way to the next apartment block.

_Corinth City, inside the ninth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Four Ten_

"Sorry for the wait," Ziggy apologised as soon as he, Dr K., Gem and Gemma appeared in the corridor. He instantly felt rather dizzy again so Gem and Gemma had to support him.

"Ziggy, are you sure that you're all right?" Dr K. asked with concern. Ziggy nodded.

"I'm sure, Doc," he replied with a fake smile to try to fool her into believing that he would be all right in a few moments. "You just go deal with that bomb."

She nodded and went over to deal with the bomb.

"It's just like the last one," she noted as she snipped a wire. "And, as far as I'm concerned..."

The device gave that satisfying beep yet again.

Dr K. smiled. "Defused," she said simply as she removed the deactivated bomb from its hiding place and handed it to Flynn again. "Get rid of it, Flynn."

"Yes, ma'am," he said with a smile. "Good luck with the rest of them."

She nodded. "There are only three more left which haven't been found. At the rate that we're going at, we might just be able to defuse them all in time."

Then, without another word, she held onto Ziggy and they vanished. The remaining RPM Power Rangers sighed and made their outside.

"You, man, get over here," Flynn snapped to one of the security officers. "Now, I tell you."

One of the security officers came over and Flynn passed the deactivated bomb to him.

"Take this back to the Corinth Defence Force Headquarters," Scott said. "Tell my father that, so far, six devices have been found and that five of the six have been defused. We've still got three more to find but we're confident that we're going to find them on time."

The security officer nodded and left as Flynn activated the megaphone.

"This is the RPM Power Rangers. We're happy to report that the threat to this apartment block has been neutralised and that you're now free to return to your homes. I repeat, we're happy to report that the threat to this apartment block has been neutralised and that you're now free to return to your homes," Flynn called. "Have a nice day."

"Only one more apartment block to go," Summer sighed.

"And we've been lucky so far that the media haven't caught up with us," Scott replied.

"Our luck is about to change if we don't get out of here," Dillon warned as he pointed to the approaching media vans.

"Then let's go, man," Flynn exclaimed as he deactivated the megaphone. Seconds later, the RPM Power Rangers fled from the media and began to head towards their fourth apartment block.

_Corinth City, inside the tenth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Four Thirteen_

"This is the smallest apartment block so it shouldn't take us very long to search," Kimberly noted.

"I know," Tommy replied. "Corporal Roberts, would you care to do the honours?"

Corporal Roberts nodded as he activated his megaphone. "This is Corporal Roberts from the Corinth Defence Force..." he began.

_Corinth City, inside the eighth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Four Fifteen_

"You took your time," Dominic said with a smile as Ziggy appeared with Dr K., Gem and Gemma. Ziggy was even dizzier than he was earlier and Gem and Gemma were getting worried.

"Are you really sure that..." Gemma began.

"...you're ok?" Gem finished.

"I'm just fine, guys," Ziggy replied. "Just give a moment to clear my head a little."

Dr K. sighed as she took a look at the bomb. "Interesting, this one is exactly like the last two," she noted as she snipped the wire.

The device gave a satisfying beep. Then, Dr K. carefully retrieved it.

"Oh no, I'm not going to..." Dominic began as she approached him with the deactivated bomb in hand.

"Sorry but I'm afraid that you are," Dr K. said as she dumped the deactivated bomb into his hands. "Get Billy to send someone to dispose of it."

"But..." Dominic began. It was too late, though, because Dr K. held onto Ziggy and, with Gem and Gemma, they vanished.

He sighed. Then, without another word, he rushed out the building to Billy, Zack and Trini.

"Vasquez!" Billy exclaimed as soon as he saw the deactivated bomb. Vasquez turned and grimaced. Then, she snapped her fingers and another of her many security officers hesitantly approached Dominic and took the deactivated bomb off him. Then, the security officer left with the deactivated bomb as Vasquez manoeuvred herself into a position where everyone could see her.

Vasquez activated her megaphone. "This is the Corinth Defence Force. We're happy to report that the threat to this apartment block has been neutralised and that you're now free to return to your homes. I repeat, we're happy to report that the threat to this apartment block has been neutralised and that you're now free to return to your homes," she called. "Have a nice day."

Billy sighed. "Just one more apartment block to go. Let's get out of here," he said grimly.

_Corinth City, inside the eleventh of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, at that very moment, Four Fifteen_

"This is it, guys," Dillon said with a smile as they entered their last apartment with the security forces right behind them. "After this apartment block, we'll have finished our search so we'll be able to go back to the Brachiozord to rest."

"Aye. And I can't wait," Flynn added. "My voice is starting to get a little hoarse."

"Here, I'll take over then," Scott said as he took the megaphone off of Flynn and activated it. Then, he sighed. "This is the RPM Power Rangers..." he began.

_Corinth City, somewhere in the streets of Corinth City, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Four Eighteen_

As Mira Tricks and her Anti-Ranger protest group chased Trent and Kira onto yet another street, Mira Tricks saw a news bulletin on a TV in a nearby shop window.

"...Reports of Bombs..." it began. However, Mira Tricks didn't catch the rest of it as they continued to chase after Kira and Trent. She didn't need to, though.

_I've been so stupid. They did find out all about my plans after all! _She thought. _But how? No one told them anything... Unless..._

She instantly stopped. _Unless Cestria has some sort of power that I don't know about... _she thought.

The Rangers would have probably evacuated almost all of the apartment blocks by now but Mira Tricks knew that they wouldn't have reached one particular apartment block yet. It was completely isolated from all of the others and she knew that they would likely save it until last.

That was going to be their biggest mistake. And she was going to make sure that they would regret it for the rest of their lives.

"Stop!" she yelled. "This has been a trap!"

The entire Anti-Ranger protest group came to a standstill at her shout. Then, they turned to her as Kira and Trent continued to flee whilst blissfully unaware that Mira Tricks had finally realised what was going on.

"Those Rangers have been trying to distract us whilst the rest of them are doing something else," she explained. "Forget them, let's go find the more important ones and let's find out what they're up to."

The Anti-Ranger protesters nodded at their leader's words. Then, like mindless sheep, they began to follow her as she led the way to the thirteenth apartment block and to the more important Rangers.

_Little do these mindless, gullible fools realise that I'm just about to use them to further my plan. Little do they realise that they're going to cause a tragedy... _Mira Tricks thought as they walked away.

In a nearby street, Kira and Trent suddenly came to a halt when they realised that Mira Tricks and her Anti-Ranger protesters weren't following them any more.

"She must have realised what we were up to. Damn," Kira cursed.

"We did our best, Kira," Trent replied. "Come on, we had better head back to the Brachiozord now. There's nothing more that we can do here in Corinth."

Kira nodded and sighed. Then, they began the long journey back to the Brachiozord.

_Corinth City, inside the tenth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Four Twenty_

"Well?" Corporal Roberts asked as Tommy, RJ, Jason and Kimberly came out of the tenth apartment block.

"Nothing," Tommy said grimly. "Which means that there is almost certainly a bomb in the thirteenth apartment block."

Corporal Roberts sighed. "It's on the other side of town so it's going to take us some time to get there. Just give me a minute to debrief all of these people then we'll head straight there."

He took out his megaphone and activated it. Then, with a sigh, he began the all clear speech all over again.

"This is Corporal Roberts from the Corinth Defence Force. It appears that this has been a false alarm. I repeat, it appears that this has been..." he began.

_Corinth City, inside the eleventh of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, at that very moment, Four Twenty_

"Guys, over here!" Summer exclaimed as she spotted the bomb hidden inside an old dog kennel which looked to have been dumped there. The other Rangers instantly came over to where she was standing and spotted the bomb.

"Ah..." Scott said simply. "Call Ziggy."

"Aye, on it," Flynn replied as he activated the communicator in his morpher. "This is Flynn, Ziggy..."

_Corinth City, inside the twelfth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, also at that very moment, Four Twenty_

"This is our last apartment block," Vasquez said as she activated her megaphone. "You had best start searching for the bomb."

"We'll get onto it right away," Billy promised as they headed upstairs. Vasquez watched them go. Then, she sighed.

"This is the Corinth Defence Force..." she began for the final time.

_Corinth City, inside the eleventh of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Four Twenty-Five_

"Where is it?" K. demanded as she appeared with Ziggy, Gem and Gemma. Ziggy was still feeling quite dizzy but he was hiding it from K. and the other RPM Power Rangers much better than he had from everyone else before.

"In there, K.," Summer said as she pointed to the dog kennel. Dr K. grimaced.

"Just great," she murmured as she came over to the dog kennel and hesitantly crawled into it so that she could deactivate the bomb. "It's just like the last three that I've had to defuse."

"Can you defuse it, though, Dr K.?" Scott asked.

Dr K. just shook her head. "Of course," she replied as she snipped the wire.

Seconds later, the device gave a satisfying beep and she crawled back out of the dog kennel with it in hand.

"Here, Flynn, you know what to do with this," Dr K. said grimly as she passed him the deactivated bomb.

"Good luck with the last two bombs, K.," Summer said with a smile as Dr K., Gem and Gemma held onto Ziggy again.

"I don't need luck," Dr K. replied grimly as they vanished. The remaining RPM Power Rangers sighed.

Then, they began to walk downstairs.

"Well, that's us, guys," Summer said as they continued downstairs.

"I know. It means that we can now go back to the Brachiozord," Scott said as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Outside, the bumbling Captain awaited them. He had obviously managed to deliver the deactivated bomb to the Corinth Defence Force Headquarters and catch up with them.

"Rangers..." the bumbling Captain began.

"Here," Flynn said as he passed the deactivated bomb to him. "You know what to do with this, man. Now, go."

The bumbling Captain nodded and left as Scott activated the megaphone.

"This is the RPM Power Rangers. We're happy to report that the threat to this apartment block has been neutralised and that you're now free to return to your homes. I repeat, we're happy to report that the threat to this apartment block has been neutralised and that you're now free to return to your homes," Scott called. "Have a nice day."

Then, he sighed as he deactivated the megaphone. "Let's go," he said simply.

Without another word, the RPM Power Rangers left to return to the Brachiozord.

_Corinth City, inside the twelfth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, also at that very moment, Four Twenty-Five_

"Guys, I've found it," Billy said grimly as he looked into another ventilation shaft and spotted the bomb.

"I'll call Ziggy," Dominic said as he revealed that he still had Billy's communicator. He activated it and then he sighed.

"This is Dominic, Ziggy..." he began moments later.

_Outside Corinth City, near to the Lake inside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Four Twenty-Seven_

"I'm sorry, Alpha, but we couldn't keep them distracted forever," Trent apologised as he and Kira entered the main Command Centre.

"It's all right, you did your best," Alpha replied. "To keep them distracted for over an hour was good going."

"Alpha's right, son, you did your best," Anton added. "That's all anyone could ask of both of you."

"It's all up to the other Rangers now," Hayley said simply. "Let's just hope that they can find and deactivate all of the bombs before it's too late."

_Corinth City, outside the thirteenth apartment block, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Four Thirty_

"Tommy..." Kimberly began as they turned the corner to see the Anti-Ranger protest group surrounding the thirteenth apartment block.

"Back," Tommy hissed as he pulled them all back around the corner before the protesters could spot them. As soon as they were back out of sight, Tommy grew rather angry.

"Damn it," he exclaimed in frustration. "We were so close to neutralising all of her bombs..."

"We still are, Tommy," RJ replied. "We just need to find a way into the apartment block now."

"We've still got half an hour to do this, bro," Jason said. "We're Power Ranger so, if we put our heads together, we should be able to come up with a good plan."

Tommy nodded. "You're right. Let's come up plan."

They huddled close together at that moment so that they could hear each other above the noise. Then, they began to discuss their plan.

To RJ, everyone else seemed really confident that they would manage it as they talked. The odds were in their favour, although there were some obstacles in the way, and nothing seemed to be going disastrously wrong so far.

_Why don't I share their confidence?_ RJ thought as he stood there with them whilst, in the back of his mind, a nagging doubt was beginning to form about their chances of success.

_Corinth City, inside the twelfth of the thirteen apartment blocks, late afternoon, also at that very moment, Four Thirty-Five_

"Ziggy, you really don't look very well," Dominic noted as Ziggy appeared with Gem, Gemma and Dr K.

"I'm fine," he snapped in reply.

Dr K. sighed. "I'm sorry that we're late, Dominic, but Ziggy had difficulty actually teleporting us to the right place this time. It took him four attempts before we finally appeared in the right block," she explained. "You're right, by the way, he doesn't look very well."

"Hey, I'm right here you know!" Ziggy exclaimed angrily. "And I'm just fine."

"Hmm," Dominic said unconvinced as Dr K. went over to the bomb.

"It's the same as the first three bombs that I've had to defuse," she noted. "Hence..."

She snipped several different wires in quick succession. Then, the device gave a satisfying beep. This time, though, Dr K. didn't lift it out.

"You can remove it now, Dominic," she said. "I can't touch it, though."

"Why?" Dominic asked curiously as he lifted the deactivated bomb out of the shaft. He noticed then that it was covered in thick black oil.

"The ventilation shaft was greased recently. I can't afford to have my hands covered in oil whilst I'm dealing with the last bomb," she replied with a smile. "We had better go now."

Without another word, K., Gem and Gemma held onto Ziggy. Then, they vanished.

Dominic sighed. Then, he made his way outside to where everyone else was waiting for him.

"I'll take that," Vasquez said grimly as she took the deactivated bomb from him. Then, she activated her megaphone.

"This is the Corinth Defence Force. We're happy to report that the threat to this apartment block has been neutralised and that you're now free to return to your homes. I repeat, we're happy to report that the threat to this apartment block has been neutralised and that you're now free to return to your homes," she called. "Have a nice day."

Then, she deactivated her megaphone as people started to stream back into the apartment block.

"It was nice working with you, Rangers," she said. "I'll just head back to the Corinth Defence Force Headquarters with this and my team now."

She left with her team of security officers at that point and Billy sighed.

"Well, guys, it's back to the Brachiozord for us," he said simply. "Come on."

Trini, Zack and Dominic sighed. Then, they followed Billy as they began to make their way back to the Brachiozord.

_Outside Corinth City, near to the Lake inside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Four Thirty-Seven_

"We're back," Flynn declared as the four RPM Power Rangers walked into the main Command Centre. "How are we doing?"

Hayley smiled. "Eight out of nine bombs have been defused. Tommy's group are on location at the thirteenth apartment right now," she replied. "I'm confident that we're going to prevent a tragedy."

Dillon shook his head. "If Tommy and his team can find the bomb and if K. can defuse it before, that is," he corrected.

"They're going to do it, Dillon. They've got plenty of time left," Scott assured. Dillon nodded and pretended to agree with Scott's assurances.

However, privately, Dillon wasn't so sure. There was a nagging doubt in the back of his mind that it wasn't going to go as well as everyone else believed.

_Corinth City, outside the thirteenth apartment block, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Four Forty_

"... So, do you know what you have to do?" Tommy asked. Corporal Roberts nodded.

"Yes," he replied. "We do. Stay close to me."

Tommy nodded. "We will," he assured.

At that moment, Corporal Roberts started to bark commands to his security officers. Then, as soon as they replied with a "Yes, sir!", they moved in.

Within minutes, Corporal Roberts and his team punched a hole right through the ranks of the Anti-Ranger protesters before they realised what was happening. However, when they finally did finally realise what was going on, they formed up into ranks to try to stop the security officers from getting Tommy and his team into the building whilst, at the same time, they began to throw whatever they could at them.

"Kimberly, look out!" Tommy exclaimed as he pulled her out of the way of a placard which had been thrown at her.

"Thanks," she smiled as she looked at him with a relieved expression.

"It was nothing," Tommy replied as he unbuckled the Shield of Triumph from his back and, grimly, threaded his belt back through the loops on his trousers. Then, as another placard was thrown at him, Tommy used the Shield of Triumph to protect himself.

Eventually, after a few minutes, they managed to get through the Anti-Ranger protesters and Mira Tricks to the thirteenth apartment block. As soon as they did, Corporal Roberts gave the order for the Anti-Ranger protest group to be forced as far back from the thirteenth apartment block as possible.

Tommy sighed. "Come on, we had best start searching the apartment block," he said grimly. "It would be best if we split up because this apartment block is so large that we would cover more of it quicker if we worked alone."

Jason nodded. "We'll meet back here once we've searched all the floors," he said.

Tommy nodded. "Yes," he agreed. Then, without another word, they split up and began to search the many floors of the thirteenth apartment block for the bomb.

_Outside Corinth City, near to the Lake inside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Four Forty-Three_

"Well?" Billy asked as he, Dominic, Zack and Trini entered the main Command Centre.

"They're still trying to find the ninth bomb," Hayley replied grimly. "I think that the Anti-Ranger protest group must be disrupting them somewhat otherwise they would have probably found the bomb by now."

Billy sighed. "It was to be expected that Mira Tricks would get in the way at some point. She'll really want that bomb to go off so that she can use it against us. What about the water in the lake?"

"We just finished refilling the lake a minute ago," Devin replied. "All we can do now is hope that Dr O. and his team actually manage to find the bomb before it is too late to defuse it. Our time is running out as we've only got seventeen minutes until five o'clock now."

"You don't need to remind me, Devin," Billy said grimly.

_Corinth City, inside the thirteenth apartment block, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Four Forty-Five_

"Corporal Roberts, we need to evacuate the..." one of the security officers began as they continued to force the Anti-Ranger protest group back.

"I know," he exclaimed in reply. "I need a few men to come with me. The rest of you stay here and keep the Anti-Ranger protest group from getting into this building whilst we go evacuate the building. Try to clear a path for the evacuees to escape the building from!"

A few security officers came to his side and, grimly, Corporal Roberts took them into the building. As they ran in, Corporal Roberts activated his megaphone.

"This is Corporal Roberts from the Corinth Defence Force," he began urgently as he ran up the stairs with his security officers following closely behind him.

_Corinth City, inside the thirteenth apartment block, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Four Fifty_

"Well?" Tommy asked as they all met up just inside the thirteenth apartment block. It had taken them ten minutes to search all the floors as this apartment block was one of the tallest in Corinth City but, as Tommy could tell by their disappointed expressions, none of them had found the bomb.

"I think that I speak for all of us when we say that we found nothing, Tommy," RJ said grimly.

Tommy instantly grew frustrated. "There's definitely a bomb in this apartment block and we've got ten minutes to find it. Is there anywhere that we haven't searched yet?" he asked.

"You could try the basement, sir," one of the fleeing residents suggested as he passed them.

Tommy blinked. "Of course, we never checked the basement!" he exclaimed. "Thank you!"

"Come on," Jason exclaimed as they ran down the stairs into the basement to begin searching it.

_Corinth City, in the basement of the thirteenth apartment block, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Four Fifty-Two_

"I've found it!" Kimberly yelled triumphantly as she spotted the bomb hidden amongst the bins.

"RJ, call Ziggy!" Tommy exclaimed as he rushed over. "Jason, you and Kimberly get out of here!"

Jason nodded and grabbed Kimberly's arm. Despite her protests, he managed to get her out of the building as RJ activated his communicator.

"This is RJ, Ziggy..." he began.

_Corinth City, in the basement of the thirteenth apartment block, late afternoon, a few minutes later, Four Fifty-Four_

As Ziggy appeared with Gem, Gemma and Dr K, he instantly powered down and Gem and Gemma had to support him.

"Ziggy, this is obviously affecting you. I don't want you to teleport again," Tommy said quite firmly.

"But..." Ziggy began as Dr K. went over to the bomb and examined it. Dr K. interrupted him as she turned pale.

"This bomb is much more complex, and more deadly, than the others," she warned as she began to work on the final bomb. "I don't know if I'll be able to defuse it in time."

Tommy turned pale. "You just try your best K," he reassured. "That's all we can ask of you."

"Tommy..." RJ began.

"I know. Ziggy, you stay here. As soon as it becomes apparent that K. isn't going to be able to defuse the bomb in time, you get her out of here, despite her protests, understand?" Tommy commanded as he turned to Ziggy. Ziggy nodded.

"Yes," he replied.

"Everyone else, we're leaving," Tommy said as he turned and made his way upstairs. Grimly, RJ, Gem and Gemma followed him.

Ziggy sighed as Dr K. continued to work away on the bomb. He knew that time was rapidly running out for them and he was beginning to get a little nervous.

_Corinth City, inside the thirteenth apartment block, late afternoon, a minute later, Four Fifty-Five_

"Report!" Colonel Roberts commanded.

"Sir, we've evacuated nearly everyone. We've just got the uppermost five floors to do now," the security officer replied.

"We're running out of time!" Colonel Roberts warned. "We've got to be quick!"

"Sir, yes sir!" the other security officers replied.

_Corinth City, in the basement of the thirteenth apartment block, late afternoon, a minute later, Four Fifty-Six_

_Four Fifty-Six... Four Fifty-Seven..._

"Dr K...," Ziggy began. "We should go."

"I can't, Ziggy. I'm almost there," she replied as she continued to work away on the bomb.

"But Dr K..." Ziggy began.

"I'm working, Ziggy!" she snapped.

Ziggy sighed.

_Four Fifty-Eight..._

"Dr K., we really should go now," Ziggy said more urgently.

"And I said that I'm working on the bomb. Don't worry, I'll have it defused," she assured as she continued to work. It was clear to Ziggy, though, that she was lying. He noticed that she was trembling significantly because she knew that she wouldn't be able to defuse it in time although she wasn't going to admit defeat.

_Four Fifty-Nine..._

Without thinking, Ziggy activated his morpher. "RPM, Get in Gear!" he called.

Then, he morphed as he began to run towards Dr K.

_Five o'clock..._

Just before the bomb exploded, Ziggy grabbed Dr K. and vanished in a flash of green light.


	27. Chapter 17: You Can't Save Everyone

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 17: You Can't Save Everyone

_Corinth City, outside the thirteenth apartment block, early evening, at that very moment_

As the lower floors of the apartment block exploded into flames, those people who had just escaped from the block were thrown to the ground along with everyone else who were close enough to it to experience the force of the explosion.

Molten glass was thrown in all directions because of the explosion and Tommy, thinking quickly, managed to use the Shield of Triumph to protect himself from the worst of it whilst he also shielded Kimberly, who had landed next to him because of the force of the explosion, with his own body.

As soon as the shards had settled, screams erupted from those watching in horror as the flames started to spread up the apartment block.

"Are you all right?" Tommy asked Kimberly grimly. She nodded as he got off of her and helped her to her feet. Nearby, RJ, Jason, Gem and Gemma got to their feet.

"K.! Ziggy!" Gem and Gemma exclaimed instantly. Tommy knew what they were about to do.

"Stop them!" he yelled to RJ and Jason. RJ and Jason instantly grabbed Gem and Gemma at his command and, despite their protests, held them back.

"Let go," Gem exclaimed. "K.'s in there!"

"Yeah. We got to go rescue her!" Gemma added.

"She isn't," RJ replied quite firmly as Ziggy reappeared with her at that moment right in front of Tommy.

"I'm sorry... we tried..." Ziggy said as he powered down just before he collapsed.

"Ziggy!" Dr K. exclaimed in fright as Tommy caught him before he hurt himself. Tommy checked his pulse.

"Dr K., he's still alive. Gem, Gemma, get over here!" Tommy reassured. Gem and Gemma instantly broke free of RJ and Jason's grip at that moment. Then, they rushed over.

"You've got to take Ziggy and Dr K. back to the Brachiozord," Tommy commanded as he passed Ziggy to Gem. Gem hesitated for a moment as Gemma took Dr K.'s hand. However, that hesitation soon vanished as some of the Anti-Ranger protesters snapped out of their shock. Then, they began to throw whatever they could at Gem and Gemma because they were Rangers. Gem instantly nodded to Gemma and they left with Ziggy and Dr K. as Tommy, RJ, Jason and Kimberly turned their attention back to the apartment block.

Flames were continuing to spread up the building and screams could be heard from the apartment block.

Instinctively, Tommy began to move towards the flames in response to the screams but, before he could get very far, Kimberly caught his arm.

"Oh no you don't," she said grimly. "If you go in there, you'll be killed."

"Kimberly... I..." Tommy began. At that moment, RJ interrupted.

"Guys, you need to see this," RJ said grimly as he pointed upwards. "Look."

Tommy and Kimberly looked up to see that a young girl had appeared on the roof. Everyone else hadn't seemed to notice her at all as they were either looking away from the blazing apartment block or chanting that the Rangers had brought this to Corinth. Nearby, Mira Tricks had a smug look on her face as she watched the proceedings. When Tommy saw her, he growled.

"I'm not going to let her win," he vowed. Then, he gestured for Jason, RJ and Kimberly to huddle closer.

"Listen, guys, we're Power Rangers. We just can't leave those people trapped in there! We just can't stand back and let Mira Tricks win!" Tommy hissed quietly so that the Anti-Ranger protest group couldn't hear him.

"But it's just too dangerous," Kimberly protested. "As much as I want to help them, there's no way that we'll get in, and out of, that apartment block alive."

Out of the corner of his eye at that moment, Tommy spotted Corporal Roberts escaping down a fire escape stairwell at the side of the building with his security officers and a number of innocents.

_Just like that apartment block in my dream... _Tommy thought as he turned pale. He suddenly had an idea.

"Guys, I've got a plan but we've got to hurry!" Tommy exclaimed. "We're going to..."

_Outside Corinth City, near to the Lake inside Corinth City Brachiozord Command Centre, early evening, at that very moment _

As Gem and Gemma entered the main Command Centre carrying an unconscious Ziggy, everyone quickly snapped out of their horror as they watched flames continue to spread up the thirteenth apartment block on-screen.

"Is he..." Summer began as she turned pale.

"No," Gem replied. "Tommy said that he was still alive."

"Where's K.?" Billy instantly asked. Gemma grimaced.

"She's in a state of shock and has locked herself in her room," she replied simply.

"We need help to carry Ziggy down to the infirmary. I don't think that I can carry him much further," Gem groaned.

"I'll help," Dillon said instantly as he came over and took Ziggy from Gem. "Let's go."

Without another word, Dillon carried Ziggy, with Gem and Gemma following close behind him, to the infirmary.

_Corinth City, outside the thirteenth apartment block, early evening, a few minutes later_

"Does everyone understand the plan?" Tommy asked as the fire engines arrived. Everyone nodded.

"We'll be putting ourselves in a dangerous situation but it's what we do every day as Power Rangers," RJ replied.

"I'm behind you all the way on this one, Tommy," Jason assured.

"So am I," Kimberly sighed.

"Good," Tommy said with a smile. "Kimberly, you must go and get as many of the aerial Zords as you can. Remember that we're running out of time to rescue anybody still trapped in there so be as fast as you possibly can. The flames may not have reached the top five floors yet but they're getting closer and closer as each second passes. And, at the same time, so is the smoke."

"I know. Good luck," she said with a grim smile before she left.

"RJ? Jason?" Tommy said grimly.

"We're ready. Let's go," Jason replied. RJ nodded in agreement to Jason's statement and, together, they made their way through the ranks of the Anti-Ranger protest group directly to the fire escape stairwell. Then, they made their way up it to the very top floor of the thirteenth apartment block.

Inside, the smoke had just begun to reach the top floor but it wasn't so thick yet that they were struggling to breathe. There were a number of screams and RJ closed his eyes so that he could concentrate on knowing where everyone trapped was.

"Where are they RJ?" Tommy asked. RJ opened his eyes.

"There are about a dozen people on this floor," he replied. "There is a young family trapped in the apartment to the right. An elderly couple is trapped in the apartment down at the end of the corridor and, at the same time, there are a number of young couples trapped in the three apartments up at the top end of the corridor."

"Jason, help me to kick the doors down," Tommy commanded. "RJ, go get the elderly couple."

RJ nodded and fled down the corridor as Tommy and Jason kicked down the door to the apartment block with the young family in it. Inside, they could hear screams and wailing.

"Hello! Where are you?" Jason yelled.

"In the bathroom," was the reply yelled back. Both Jason and Tommy rushed over to the bathroom door and, inside, they found a young couple with two young children and a baby huddled by the bath.

"Corinth Defence Force at your service, ma'am," Tommy said quickly as he helped the woman up as the man got to his feet. "We're here to get you out of here."

"But..." the man began.

"There's a fire escape stairwell up here," Jason replied as he gently lifted up the two young children. "Come on."

Jason escorted the young couple to the fire escape stairwell as Tommy rushed to the top end of the corridor to rescue the young couples. As Jason got to the fire escape stairwell, RJ brought the elderly couple along.

"That's it. Not far now," RJ soothed as he led them along to the stairwell as the smoke started to get thicker.

"I'll take them from here, RJ," Jason said gently. "You must go help Tommy to rescue the young couples. Quickly!"

RJ nodded and ran to help Tommy at the top end of the corridor as Jason plunged down the fire escape stairwell with the elderly couple and the young family close behind him.

At the top end of the corridor, Tommy had already broken down all the doors and had rescued the young couples already.

"Let's get out of here. The smoke's beginning to get much thicker," RJ warned as he started to cough. Tommy nodded and they rushed to the fire escape stairwell. However, as they arrived, they began to hear a cry for help from the floor below.

"There's somebody trapped down there!" Tommy exclaimed.

"Don't you even dare, Tommy. The flames are getting too close and the smoke is beginning to get too thick..." RJ began.

"Sorry, I've got to. Take the couples and get out of here. I'll only be a few minutes behind you," Tommy promised as he took a deep breath and plunged down the nearby smoke-filled stairs to the floor below. He found it difficult to see but he could still hear the cries for help although they were getting much weaker.

"Where are you?" Tommy yelled. There was no reply as the cries finally stopped. Tommy instantly turned pale and he closed his eyes.

A new sensation came over him at that moment. It was like an instinct but, as far as he could tell, it was more than that. He just knew that he would find the person crying for help slumped in front of a door nearby and he just knew that the floor beneath his feet was going to collapse soon at the same time. He didn't know how he knew both of these facts, though.

As quickly as possible, he bent down and picked up the person lying unconscious in front of the door. Tommy couldn't see who it was because of the thick smoke and he didn't stop to check because he had more important priorities to deal with. As he had known, the floor beneath his feet was beginning to collapse and he knew that he had to escape as quickly as possible. With one hand holding the person over his back and the other holding the Shield of Triumph, Tommy quickly made his way over the treacherous floor back into the stairwell. As soon as he had reached the stairwell, the floor completely collapsed behind him.

The flames had just about reached the floor that Tommy had been on and, at the same time, the smoke had grown so thick that Tommy began to struggle to breathe. He rushed up the stairs onto the top floor and straight to the fire escape stairwell. Out there, he was met by RJ who had come back to get him. In the light, he could see that he had rescued a young woman and that she had started to breathe normally again.

"RJ... take her..." Tommy gasped as he took in several deep breaths and began to cough repeatedly. RJ nodded and gently took the woman from him.

"My daughter..." the woman began to mumble. "Where's Elizabeth?"

RJ turned pale. "She's referring to that little girl who is still trapped on the roof, Tommy," he warned.

Tommy turned as pale as RJ. "I'll get her," he promised as he turned and plunged back into the apartment block.

"Tommy!" RJ exclaimed. "Come back!"

It was, however, too late. Tommy was already running along the corridor at that point and he then headed up the smoke filled stairs to the rooftop.

When Tommy arrived, coughing, onto the rooftop, the little girl instantly shrunk away from him in fear.

"It's all right," Tommy soothed. "I'm here to get you out of here."

"Mama..." the girl began.

"She's already down there waiting for you," Tommy soothed further as he slowly approached the little girl. The little girl didn't shrink away from him this time and allowed him to pick her up. As soon as Tommy had picked her up, he turned to make his way back down the stairs to escape but he found that his escape route was blocked as the flames had somehow rapidly spread up the stairs which he had came up only moments before.

Tommy groaned and instantly looked around. It was then that he noticed that the rooftop had a thick iron mesh fence surrounding it and that there was now no other escape route for him to use.

_Just great! Why does this apartment block have to be exactly like the one from my dream? _Tommy thought. _Now what am I meant to do?_

"Mister, we're going to get out of here, aren't we?" the little girl asked.

"Of course," Tommy reassured with a convincing smile. "I promise you that we'll get out of here."

She nodded as if she believed what he had said but Tommy, on the other hand, didn't believe his own words. To Tommy, it appeared that they were trapped. There was no apparent escape from the certain doom facing him this time...

_Outside Corinth City, near to the Lake inside Corinth City Brachiozord Command Centre, early evening, at that very moment_

As Anton looked down at the floor, unable to continue watching the blazing apartment block in horror like everyone else present in the main Command Centre, he couldn't believe what he saw. He blinked to make sure that he wasn't seeing things but, after he had blinked, it was still there.

The Tiger Power Coin. He bent down and picked it up as Kimberly rushed into the main Command Centre.

"Trent, Kira, come with me!" she exclaimed. "Tommy and the others need the aerial Zords and our help!"

Trent and Kira instantly snapped out of their shock and nodded. At that moment, just as they moved to morph, Anton made a decision. He wasn't going to stand by and watch in horror of Mira Tricks's handiwork when he could help do something to limit the damage.

"Wait," he exclaimed. "I'm coming with you."

"But dad you don't have..." Trent began. Anton smiled as he revealed the Tiger Power Coin.

"Tommy dropped it earlier," Anton explained. "And I don't want to stand by and watch Mira Tricks's diabolical handiwork any more."

Kimberly considered his words for a moment before she sighed.

"It's your choice, Anton. I won't stop you," she said finally as she pulled out her Pterodactyl Power Coin. "Ready?"

He nodded as he held the Tiger Power Coin at the ready. "Yes," he replied simply as Trent and Kira also nodded as their morphers appeared on their wrists.

"Pterodactyl!" Kimberly called as she activated her morpher.

"Tigerzord!" Anton called as he activated his morpher.

"Dino Thunder, power up! Ha!" Kira called as she activated her morpher.

"White Ranger, Dino Power!" Trent finally called as he activated his morpher.

They morphed. Then, Billy sighed as he watched them go.

"Good luck," he murmured. "You're going to need it."

_Outside Corinth City, near to the Lake inside Corinth City Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, early evening, also at that very moment_

"IRMA!" Dillon exclaimed as he entered the infirmary. From where she sat at the computer terminal as she typed up several notes, she looked up.

"What happened?" she asked instantly as she got up out of her chair and rushed over as Dillon lowered Ziggy onto the nearest bed.

"As far as I can tell from these two, Ziggy significantly overused his ability to teleport, IRMA," Dillon said as he gestured to Gem and Gemma. "At first, it made him quite dizzy but he still insisted on persevering despite everyone else's concern for him. It took its toll and he collapsed after rescuing K. from the thirteenth apartment block."

IRMA quickly checked Ziggy over and smiled. "He's suffering from quite a massive energy drain. With rest under my nose for a while, he'll live. I'm more concerned about K. right now. Where is she?"

"She's sort of in a state of shock." Gemma answered grimly.

"She's locked herself in her room and won't let anyone in," Gem added.

"You've got to try to get her out of there as we don't know what she'll do in an emotional state. As soon as she comes out of there, bring her straight to me so that I can assess what damage has been done to her mentally," IRMA warned.

Dillon nodded. "We'll fetch Summer and try to get K. out of there. Let us know when Ziggy wakes," he replied.

IRMA smiled. "Don't worry, I will," she reassured. "Go."

Without another word, Dillon, Gem and Gemma left the Infirmary to head upstairs to the main Command Centre so that they could fetch Summer before they tried to convince Dr K. to come out of her room.

_Corinth City, on the roof of the thirteenth apartment block, early evening, a few minutes later_

"Kimberly," Tommy breathed as the Pterodactyl Dinozord, flanked by both the Dragozord and the Pterazord, flew towards him.

"We're going to get you out of there!" Kimberly called.

"You had better hurry!" Tommy yelled back as he noticed that cracks had appeared on the roof in many places. "I don't know how much longer this roof is going to hold out for!"

Each of the three Zords attempted to swoop down onto the roof at that moment but the flames and debris quickly forced them to abandon their attempts.

"The fire is just too strong," Trent exclaimed. "We can't get to him."

"We're going to have to find some other way of getting him out of there," Kira exclaimed.

"I'm not giving up. I'm not!" Kimberly exclaimed as she tried yet again to reach him on the roof. Again, she was forced back.

"Please. Stop!" Tommy exclaimed. "You're not going to reach me that way!"

"But..." she began. "How..."

At that moment, Zordon's words came back to Tommy.

_He knew that this would happen. He wanted me to take the Shield of Triumph to survive through this and believe... _Tommy thought. _But believe what? Believe that I can wield it? Believe that we'll escape this alive?_

Tommy paused for a moment as he looked down at the Shield of Triumph. At that moment, that strange sensation came back and he knew what he had to do to escape.

All he had to do was believe that it would work, though.

"Hold onto me tightly," Tommy said gently to the girl. "And close your eyes."

She nodded and obeyed as Tommy held the Shield of Triumph at the ready.

"I hope that you were right, Zordon," Tommy muttered. "I believe that I can do this. Here goes nothing..."

He paused for a moment. "Sword of Triumph, activate!" he called.

At that moment, the Shield of Triumph began to glow and, within a few seconds, the Sword of Triumph, which Conner used to so often use in his Triassic Ranger form, appeared.

"It worked," Tommy breathed. "Now to get out of here."

Behind him, there was a loud explosion and parts of the roof collapsed. The girl's grip tightened on Tommy as she gave a frightened little cry. He knew that he only had seconds before they both were killed so he used the sword to cut a large hole into the fence. Then, as quickly as possible, he slipped through the fence with the girl whilst accidentally cutting his arm in the process.

"What are you doing?" Kimberly shrieked.

"Trust me," Tommy called in reply as he leapt from the roof just as it completely collapsed.

In response to Tommy leaping, the crowd below gasped as both Kira and Trent failed to catch him as he hurtled rapidly towards the ground. In the end, he was caught by the Falconzord and, by using the Shield of Triumph to absorb the force of landing badly onto its wings after a significant fall, Tommy managed to avoid death.

He didn't, however, avoid a broken arm. The snapping sound which the arm which held the Shield of Triumph made as it broke caused Tommy to gasp in agony but he still managed to hold onto the wings of the Falconzord until he was rescued.

"Need a hand?" Anton asked with a smile as he leapt out of the cockpit. Tommy smiled.

"Yes, Anton, I do," he replied with a groan. "I think that I've broken my arm."

Anton nodded as the Falconzord swooped away from the blazing apartment block. Then, as calmly as possible, he made his way to Tommy on the wings of the Falconzord and helped him and the girl into the cockpit.

"Thanks, you've saved my life yet again," Tommy said as soon as he was inside the cockpit. With Anton's help, he managed to gently settle the girl into the chair as worried voices soon erupted over the communication link.

"Tommy! Tommy! Are you all right?" Kimberly exclaimed.

"I've got a broken arm but, otherwise, I'm just fine. You just all head back to the Brachiozord now. Tommy out." Tommy replied wearily. He shut down the communication link as the Sword of Triumph vanished from the Shield of Triumph just as the girl opened her eyes.

"What happened?" she asked instantly.

"You're going to be all right," Anton soothed.

"Yeah, my friend here managed to get us out of there before anything bad happened," Tommy added as he winced because of his arm.

"Mister, you're hurt," the girl noted with concern.

"It's nothing too serious," Tommy replied as he cast the Shield of Triumph to one side. "It could've been much worse."

"We're going to need to get IRMA to look at that," Anton said grimly.

"No, I'll get one of the ambulance crews to look at it," Tommy said quickly. "Miss Elizabeth here has got a reunion with her mother to go to first."

Anton nodded as he took control of the Falconzord again. "I'll take the Falconzord down there, then."

"Are we really flying?" the girl asked with excitement.

"Do you want to see?" Tommy asked with a grin. She nodded and both of them turned to Anton. "Well, White Ranger?"

Anton smiled. "I don't see why not," he replied as he shut off the various displays so that they could see outside. The girl watched in awe of their surroundings as the Falconzord swooped back to the blazing apartment block which the firemen were now dousing in tons of water to try to put the flames out. As it landed, Anton opened the hatch and the girl instantly rushed out to be greeted by her tearful mother who appeared to have recovered quite a bit since Tommy had rescued her from the building.

Tommy came to the hatch and watched the tearful reunion with a smile on his face.

"It's these sort of moments that I treasure. We're here to protect innocents from the evil so that they can continue to live their normal lives out in peace whilst, at the same time, we live out our not-so-normal lives as... well, you know," Tommy said as he turned to Anton.

"I can see why you would enjoy these moments. In your life, they're few and far between," Anton said. Tommy nodded as the Anti-Ranger protesters started to hurl abuse at Anton.

"It's time for you to go, my friend," Tommy said grimly.

Anton nodded. "All of us will await your return back at the Brachiozord," he whispered quietly as RJ and Jason rushed over. Then, he returned to the Falconzord and headed back to the Brachiozord with it.

"Tommy... you..." Jason began. He was completely lost for words. RJ just smiled.

"Despite the great risks to your life, you did something pretty heroic there," RJ said.

"And I've paid for it," Tommy grimaced. "My arm's broken."

"Dr Oliver..." Corporal Roberts began as he rushed over. "I must say that it was pretty heroic what you did there. I..."

"Corporal Roberts, you know what I am," Tommy replied simply. "And I can assure you that heroism, and the risks which come with it, is a part of my life."

"Tommy, we had better get your arm checked out. It looks quite bad," Jason noted. "The ambulance crew is this way."

Tommy nodded and began to follow him towards the ambulance but, after taking a few steps, he began to feel really weak. RJ noticed this and knew exactly what would happened next before it actually happened.

"Tommy!" RJ exclaimed as he rushed forward and caught Tommy before he collapsed. "I've got you, my friend."

Jason instantly turned and groaned. "Bro, you..." he began.

"Help me with him, Jason. The smoke he must have inhaled has weakened him considerably," RJ exclaimed. Jason nodded and, between them both, they carried Tommy to the ambulance crew.

"Be careful with his left arm. It's broken," Jason warned the paramedic as he and RJ carried Tommy into the ambulance. "And he also appears to be suffering quite badly from smoke inhalation as well like RJ was earlier."

The paramedic nodded. "Set him down on the stretcher," he commanded.

RJ and Jason set Tommy down on the stretcher and the paramedic instantly brought over an oxygen tank with a mask.

"Here, put this on," the paramedic said gently. "And take deep breaths."

Tommy nodded and complied with the paramedic's instructions as the paramedic instantly began to check Tommy's left arm.

"It looks like quite a bad break," the paramedic noted as he noticed that his arm was cut on the other side. As soon as he did so, he checked Tommy's other arm and found that he had quite a nasty gash running down it.

"I think that I'm going to take you to hospital, my friend," the paramedic said grimly. "Your left arm will need to be set in a cast whilst your right arm will need several stitches."

"No," Tommy said grimly. "I can't risk going to hospital today not when..."

"Tommy!" Jason exclaimed. "You need to go! Look at the state you're in."

"I said no. I can't leave you guys to deal with _her _whilst I'm stuck in the hospital," Tommy said quite firmly.

"Sir, you really need to..." the paramedic began.

"Please," Tommy begged. "Just patch me up as best as you can."

The paramedic sighed. "As you wish but I warn you that it's going to hurt since I don't have any anaesthetic with me to knock you out whilst I try to stitch that wound of yours shut. I'm not going to touch your arm, though. I'll get the other paramedic to call a doctor down here."

"I'm used to being in intolerable agony so a few stitches won't bother me. Just get on with it," Tommy said grimly as he closed his eyes. The paramedic shouted a few commands through to his colleague whilst, at the same time, he sighed.

"Fine," the paramedic said as he fetched the kit that he required. As soon as he started work on his arm, Tommy closed his eyes and grimly let his mind wander far away to somewhere else so that he could ignore the pain that he was soon in.

_Corinth City, in the ambulance outside the thirteenth apartment block, mid-evening, some time later_

"Well, I've done my best with your right arm," the paramedic said grimly. "And, as far as I can tell, the firemen have just managed to get the blaze under control."

"Tommy?" RJ said with concern as Tommy blinked whilst he removed the oxygen mask.

"I'm fine," Tommy assured as he checked his arm. "Thanks. You've done a good job, you know."

"Hey, Tommy, you have some visitors," Jason said as he returned. Tommy blinked again. He hadn't noticed that Jason had left at all as he had been in his own little world whilst the paramedic had tended to him.

"Who would..." Tommy began before he fell silent as he saw Elizabeth and her mother hesitantly approach.

"I wanted to thank you, in person, for saving me and my daughter," the mother said hesitantly. "If you hadn't, neither of us would be here right now."

Tommy smiled. "It is part my job, ma'am, as a member of the Corinth Defence Force, to rescue those in danger," he lied.

The woman shook her head. "I know that you're only saying that to protect us and yourself from backlash. I can tell what you really are, Power Ranger, but I'm not going to say anything to the media," she replied. "And, for the record, I don't agree with Mira Tricks and the Anti-Ranger protest group. You don't bring evil to Corinth at all. The evil beings come here because we're the only place left which can offer any resistance to their diabolical plots."

Tommy smiled whilst the paramedic was quite startled by this revelation.

"Thank you. It's nice to know that we've got some support here in Corinth," Tommy replied calmly. "I'm sorry for lying to you but I can't afford to let it be publicly known that I'm a Power Ranger yet with that mob out there."

She nodded as Elizabeth leapt up onto the bed at Tommy's side.

"Are you really..." she began. Tommy smiled at her.

"Of course," he said as he concentrated. Seconds later, the Brachio Morpher appeared on his wrist. Elizabeth was in awe.

"Wow... I was..." she began as she grew really excited as it vanished again.

"What I can't understand is how you found me, though. The smoke up there was so thick that..." the mother began.

"I just had this weird feeling something like an instinct but stronger. However, I don't know exactly how I knew that you were there. I just did. There's no way to describe it," Tommy admitted freely.

"Tommy... that sounds like..." RJ began.

"But that's impossible!" Jason exclaimed to interrupt RJ. "Only those masters of your Order can ever do that sort of trick."

"I know. That's what worries me," Tommy admitted as the doctor arrived.

"You had best go," RJ warned to the mother and Elizabeth gently. "I don't think that either of you will want to see Tommy's arm being set. It's going to get quite unpleasant in here."

The mother nodded. "Come on, Elizabeth," she said gently.

Elizabeth nodded and went to her mother. "Thank you," Elizabeth said as they left and the doctor arrived.

"Who's the one with the broken arm?" the doctor asked instantly.

"That would be me," Tommy said grimly.

"Take your shirt off so that I can take a good look at it," the doctor commanded.

Tommy sighed and, with a struggle, managed to take his shirt off as the doctor instantly took a look at his left arm.

"This is going to hurt," the doctor warned as he gripped Tommy's broken left arm. Tommy closed his eyes and didn't even flinch when the doctor adjusted it roughly into the right place. Then, he used a splint to hold it into place as he adjusted it a little more before, finally, he quickly made up a rough cast around Tommy's arm. Once the cast had set, the doctor put it into a sling.

"You'll be glad to know that it appears to be a clean break," the doctor said with a smile. "It's going to take a while to heal, though."

Tommy grimaced. "Damn..." he muttered.

"Well, if that's everything, I'm out of here," the doctor said grimly.

"RJ, could you help me with..." Tommy began. RJ nodded and, with a sigh, helped Tommy to put his shirt back on.

"Dr Oliver are you all right?" Corporal Roberts asked as he approached the ambulance.

"I'm all right," Tommy reassured with a deep breath. "I've got a few injuries but it's nothing that I can't handle."

"The media are having an absolute field day. Like me, they still can't figure out how on earth you managed to survive that massive fall," Corporal Roberts said with a smile. "They want to interview you but my security officers are keeping them as far away from the ambulance as possible."

"Neither can I," Jason admitted. "I thought for sure that you were going to..."

"That shield which he was carrying protected him from the worst of it. It was no ordinary shield," RJ replied simply.

"Of course it wasn't," Tommy snorted. "If I wanted to, I think that I could have used that thing to morph into the Triassic Ranger and then I could have..."

"That would have just been too risky, Tommy. You don't know whether you would have been able to take on Conner McKnight's powers or not," RJ interrupted.

"I'm afraid that I have to agree with RJ on that one, Tommy. As you once told me, the Shield of Triumph was solely meant for Conner McKnight," Jason added.

Tommy sighed. "Yes. However, that was before Zordon dropped the bombshell on me earlier that those with power can also control the Shield of Triumph in a limited fashion," he muttered.

"It still doesn't mean that you would be able to wield it, Tommy," RJ warned.

"I..." Corporal Roberts began as one of his security officers came over.

"Sir..." the officer called. Corporal Roberts turned and the officer gestured him over.

"I'm sorry, sir," the officer whispered grimly. "The firemen have just discovered that a few poor souls on the upper floors didn't make it."

Everyone in the ambulance overheard this news and both RJ and Jason turned as white as a sheet.

"No..." they both began.

Tommy could tell that they were completely demoralised by this news as their eyes held a look of hopelessness to them. He, on the other hand, was upset but this had just strengthened his determination to make sure that Mira Tricks didn't get away with this diabolical plot.

Corporal Roberts turned to them as the security officer left.

"If you hadn't intervened, it could have been much worse," he said as he came over. "If you had stood by and let Mira Tricks set off those other eight bombs, it would have been a complete tragedy. If you hadn't rescued all those people from that apartment block as well, many more people would have been planning funerals right now."

"He's right," Tommy added. "We did our best to stop Mira Tricks. No matter how hard you try, sometimes you just can't save everyone. We should be proud that we did manage to save many people from the apartment block and we should be proud that none of us got killed in the process."

"Although you did come very close to being killed, Tommy," Corporal Roberts amended. Tommy shrugged.

"Nearly dying isn't a new experience for me, Corporal. I've been in a number of life and death situations before. I've even died myself once or twice," Tommy replied with grim smile.

Corporal Roberts sighed as the paramedic interrupted as his colleague shouted through.

"We're going to have to go, now," the paramedic said grimly. "We've just had a call about an accident nearby which the Anti-Ranger protesters have apparently caused."

Tommy grimaced. "Thanks, by the way," he said to the paramedic as he slipped off of the stretcher. Both RJ and Jason instantly went to support him but Tommy found that he didn't need their help as the weakness which had been caused by the smoke inhalation had passed.

"For what it's worth, I don't agree with the Anti-Ranger protesters either," the paramedic said. "Turning to scum like Mira Tricks in times of fear isn't the answer although I don't think that you Rangers have helped yourselves a lot either."

"I know that we've made some regrettable mistakes," Tommy admitted with a sigh as he clambered out of the ambulance with RJ, Jason and Corporal Roberts in tow. "However, we're not perfect and, no matter how hard we try, we'll never be able to do more than our best against evil beings which, sometimes, isn't enough to defeat them."

"At least you can recognise that," the paramedic said. "The Anti-Ranger protest group still can't see their own shortcomings. I wish you good luck."

Without another word, the paramedic shut the doors into the back of the ambulance and then it drove off.

"It was nice working with you, Corporal Roberts. I'll make sure to put in a good word about you whenever I get a chance to. A good man like you deserves to be rewarded," Tommy said as he shook his hand. Then, he smiled. "I'm sure that we'll meet again some day."

"It was an honour to work with you, Dr Oliver, sir," Corporal Roberts replied with a salute. "I'll keep the media here as long as I possibly can to give you a chance to get out of here."

"You don't need to salute," Tommy smiled. "And thanks for holding off the media for us."

Tommy then turned to RJ and Jason. "We're out of here," he said simply.

Without another word, RJ, Jason and Tommy left to return to the Brachiozord. Corporal Roberts watched them go with a grim smile before he turned and ordered that the media be held where they were so that they couldn't follow Tommy and the others.

Nearby, Mira Tricks was dealing with mixed emotions. On the one hand, she was disappointed by the fact that the Rangers had somehow managed to disrupt her plans but, on the other, she was convinced that this day would still mean the end of the Power Rangers as one bomb had gone off and people had been killed because of it.

She smiled. In a strange way, this was still a situation which she could exploit.

_Now, to sow the seeds of discontent amongst the people. _Mira Tricks thought as the media turned their attention to her. _Power Rangers, your end is now nigh. There's no way that you'll be able to escape this._


	28. Chapter 18: Tricked To Her End

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 18: Tricked To Her End

_Outside Corinth City, near to the Lake inside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late evening, some time later_

"... The explosion in the apartment block behind me has so far claimed several lives with the death toll expected to rise a little more when the firemen are finally able to reach the rooms in the upper levels which appear to be the most damaged parts of the apartment block. Traces of petrol have already been found on the stairwell up to the roof and in a number of other places. The Corinth Defence Force have already publicly stated that this was indeed a terrorist attack orchestrated by the evil beings which have continued to plague Corinth despite Venjix's destruction," the reporter was saying as everyone present in the main Command Centre watched the news bulletin.

"So that's how the fire spread so quickly up the stairs to the roof," Tommy murmured. He had gotten cleaned up and had arrived only moments before in the main Command Centre with RJ and Jason who were standing behind him.

"The Anti-Ranger protest group have been quick to blame the Rangers for being responsible for bringing the evil which orchestrated this atrocity to Corinth and the growing public anger at the Rangers seems to be agreeing with them. They're currently in the process of planning a "final demonstration" to force the Rangers out of the Corinth and their leader, Mira Tricks, has..." the reporter continued as Scott switched off the news bulletin.

"I can't watch any more. We're about to be destroyed either way as Mira Tricks has quite clearly won now," he said grimly. Tommy looked at him with a startled expression on his face.

"No, don't ever say that. It isn't over yet," Tommy replied.

"It is. There's no way that we can face her and all of the people against us. You've got to face the fact that Mira Tricks has won Dr O.," Kira said simply.

"I'm afraid that I'm with them on this one, Tommy," Jason said grimly. "Rita and Zedd were one thing but the very people that we swore to protect turning against us is quite another. Mira Tricks has won."

"No, I refuse to believe that. We've still got some time..." Tommy began.

"No, Dr O., it's over," Trent said simply as he left. Soon, other Rangers began to follow him with looks of hopelessness and despair on their faces.

"Guys, it isn't..." Tommy began but, before he could finish, all of the Rangers had gone. Most of the non-Rangers had also gone as well but Cassidy and Devin had remained behind.

"We're not going to give up, Dr O.," Devin said with a smile. "You're right about the fact that there's still time to turn the people away from evil again."

"We're not going to give up hoping that you can still defeat Mira Tricks," Cassidy agreed. "So, what are you going to do?"

Tommy smiled. "I'm not going to give up either. Although Mira Tricks won that battle, she hasn't won the war. She still has to get through me and, although I may be down, I'm not out of the picture yet."

"What's the plan?" Devin asked.

"The plan, Devin, is to firstly get the Brachiozord a little further away from Corinth City. Mira Tricks isn't going to surprise us," Tommy said as he headed over to the console. He paused for a moment.

"Both of you give me a hand over here by activating those buttons at the top of the console. And..." he said as he began to give them instructions.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late evening, a few minutes later_

Minutes later, they had successfully managed to move the Brachiozord Command Centre into a more strategic position a little further away from Corinth City so that they would be able to see Mira Tricks and her Anti-Ranger protest group when they approached.

"Now what?" Cassidy asked.

"I've got a plan," Tommy replied calmly. "But I'm going to need you, Cassidy Agnes Cornell, to face Mira Tricks and her Anti-Ranger protest group in order for it to work."

Cassidy turned pale. "I'm not a Ranger. Why me?"

"You're a media savvy reporter Cassidy and, at the same time, you're great at inspirational speeches," Tommy replied with a warm smile. "I'm too rough and ragged to make much of a difference if I made a big speech but you, on the other hand, are just perfect."

Cassidy stood still for a moment before she replied. "I can't do it, Dr O.," she said. "I'm sorry."

She fled at that moment. Both Tommy and Devin called after her but she didn't reply.

Tommy sighed.

"She's afraid of facing Mira Tricks, Dr O.," Devin admitted. "She's afraid of what Mira Tricks or the Anti-Ranger protest group will do to her."

Tommy nodded. "It's understandable," he said simply. "What about you, Devin? Are you afraid?"

Devin nodded. "Yes. I'm not, however, going to abandon hope," he replied. "Or the belief that we can still beat Mira Tricks either."

Tommy smiled sadly. "Good," he said simply.

"What about you, Dr Oliver? Are you afraid?" Devin asked.

Tommy shook his head. "No," he lied simply although he knew that Devin probably wouldn't buy it.

In truth, Tommy was afraid. However, he wasn't afraid for himself.

No, he was afraid of what Miratrix would do to everyone that he cared about. He was afraid of what she would do to Corinth if the Rangers couldn't stop her. And, above all things, he was afraid that she would cause evil to gain control of the entire universe if Corinth fell to her.

"You're lying, Dr O.," Devin said simply.

Tommy smiled. "I didn't think that you would buy it. I'm not afraid for myself, Devin, because I've learned as a Power Ranger that you live your life from one day to the next not knowing whether you'll die that day or not," he said simply. "And, on top of that, I've survived through two years in the harsh desert where death waited for you every single day. Trust me, it really put fear into perspective for me."

"So what are you afraid for?" Devin asked.

"I'm afraid of what Mira Tricks will do to everyone I care about, and to Corinth, if we can't stop her. I'm afraid that she'll cause evil to gain control of the entire universe if Corinth falls," Tommy admitted.

"Wow, Dr O.," Devin said simply.

Tommy sighed and then looked down for a few moments.

"So, what do you want me to do?" Devin asked.

Instantly, he looked up at Devin as he replied, "Stay here. As soon as Mira Tricks and her Anti-Ranger protesters show up, you set off that alarm. Understand?"

Devin nodded. "What about you?" he asked.

"I've got a few things to take care of," Tommy replied simply as he retrieved the Shield of Triumph from where Anton had left it by the main Command Chair. "As soon as that alarm goes off, I'll come straight up here. I promise."

Then, without another word, Tommy left Devin in the main Command Centre.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zordon's bedroom, late evening, a few minutes later_

"Has there been any change, Alpha?" Tommy asked as he entered Zordon's bedroom and hesitantly set the Shield of Triumph down beside the bed.

Alpha shook his head. "No. There's been none," he said grimly. "I watched the news bulletin. The Rangers have given up hope, haven't they?"

Tommy nodded. "All of them."

Alpha sighed. "Ai, Ai, Ai, this is a disaster!"

"I know, Alpha," Tommy said grimly. "However, it's a disaster which I intend to fix. I'm going to try to convince them that there's still hope since we're still alive right now. If they don't listen to me, I'll face Mira Tricks and the entire Anti-Ranger protest group on my own if I have to."

"But Tommy..." Alpha began.

"It may be too risky but, if I have to, I'll still do it," he said grimly. "If there's any change in Zordon, let me know."

"But Tommy..." Alpha began again. However, it was too late as Tommy had already gone.

Alpha sighed.

"Zordon, you had better wake up soon," he said grimly to the unconscious sage. "The Rangers need you."

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Jungle Fury base, late evening, a few minutes later_

"Go away, Tommy," RJ said as Tommy entered. "There's no way that we can beat Mira Tricks and, no matter what you say, there's no way that you can disguise that fact."

Tommy shook his head. "Mira Tricks isn't invincible," he said simply. "And this isn't like either of you at all, RJ, Dominic. What happened to the RJ of the past few days who wouldn't give up on saving his friends no matter what ? What happened to the stubborn Rhino who destroyed Croonia without breaking a sweat? Or the Rhino who wouldn't give up on his friends?"

RJ was silent but Fran began to squeak frantically.

"Fran agrees with me. There's still time and hope left," Tommy continued. "If you've both given up on trying to beat Mira Tricks then you've also given up on your friends as well and I don't think that either of you would want to do that."

RJ looked down in shame. "You're right, Tommy. We can't give up hope," he said with a renewed determination in his eyes.

"It's already too late anyway," Dominic said grimly.

"No, Tommy's right, there's still time, Dom," RJ countered. Tommy smiled.

"Well I'm glad that I've finally gotten you back on my side, RJ," Tommy said.

"I should never have given up hope. You leave Dominic to me and go try to convince the others that there's still hope as well," RJ smiled. "Thanks, Tommy."

Tommy nodded. "I'll do that," he said as he turned and left RJ to try to convince Dominic not to give up.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, in the corridor outside of the Biozord hangar, late evening, another few minutes later_

As Tommy passed the Biozord hangar, he heard the sobbing coming from within the hangar and stopped.

"Cassidy?" Tommy wondered aloud as he held his morpher up to the scanner at the door. The door instantly clicked open in response. Inside the hangar, concealed behind the Mezodon Rover, he instantly spotted Cassidy sitting there sobbing.

Hesitantly, Tommy entered and approached her.

"Go away," she wept.

"Not today, Cassidy," Tommy said gently as he came over and sat at her side. "You're afraid of facing Mira Tricks and her Anti-Ranger protest group, aren't you?"

She was silent for a moment before she nodded. Tommy smiled.

"You're not the only one. The Rangers have given up hope because they're afraid of facing her as well," he said gently.

"Dr Oliver..." she began before she fell silent and continued to sob. Tommy gently put a comforting arm around her and held her close.

"It's all right. It's perfectly understandable to be afraid of Mira Tricks after what she has done," he said soothingly. "In a way, we brought this upon ourselves. I admit that Rangers aren't perfect. I've been one long enough to easily recognise that we're a secretive bunch who prefer the shadows to the limelight and, because of this fact, we left the door open for Mira Tricks to come in out of the cold and manipulate the people."

He paused for a moment. "And we've also made a number of regrettable mistakes over the past few days as well. However, at least we're trying our best to keep evil away from Corinth and that's all the people should ask from us. Those who want more are only going to get disappointment."

He paused again. "If Mira Tricks defeats us, she'll gain control of Corinth and, eventually, evil will destroy the entire universe. I'm pleading for your help here Cassidy because of these high stakes. All I ask of you is that you make one heartfelt speech, as a passionate roving reporter, which should make most of the Anti-Ranger protesters think about what they're doing."

She was about to say something at that point but Tommy shook his head.

"Don't say yes or no yet. I'm going to leave you to think on that thought," he said as he got up. "You can tell me your answer later."

Then, without another word, he left.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, RPM base, late evening, another few minutes later_

"Come on, Dr K.!" Ziggy said gently. "You can't stay in there forever."

"Go away," was Dr K.'s muffled reply.

"No," Summer said grimly. "Come on, K.."

Tommy entered at that moment. The RPM Power Rangers didn't acknowledge his presence until he calmly went up to K.'s door.

"She won't come out, Tommy," Summer said grimly. "When she heard us talking about what had happened, she started crying further."

"Don't worry, I'll get her out of there," Tommy promised. "It's good to see that you're all right, Ziggy."

"IRMA wanted me to rest up when I woke but I couldn't sit there while K. was like this," Ziggy replied. "She warned me that I've not to teleport anywhere by using my skill for a while."

Tommy nodded. Then, he turned to the door.

"K., it's me Tommy. Listen, I know what you're going through right now. You're blaming yourself for what happened today," Tommy said calmly. "You're thinking over and over that, if you had been quicker or more skilled, you might have been able to defuse that last bomb on time."

"How would you know?" she demanded.

"I've often blamed myself for not rescuing my friends from Venjix's forces. I've often thought that, if I had perhaps acted sooner, or if I had perhaps monitored the outside world more closely, I could've been able to save them," Tommy admitted. "However, there's no point dwelling on what might have been. I've learned that lesson the hard way."

He sighed. "Listen, K., you did your best and that's all that we could ask of you. Don't dwell on the people you couldn't save. You've got to dwell on all the people that you _did _save as they greatly outnumber those that you couldn't," he said calmly. "However, more importantly, you've also got to stop blaming yourself for Miratrix's evil actions as well. Come on, K., you're better than that."

There was a moment of silence before the satisfying click of the door being opened could be heard. Seconds later, K. emerged and threw her arms instinctively around Ziggy and wept.

"Ok, K., just let it all out," Ziggy soothed as he squirmed slightly in discomfort in her grip. After a moment, though, he put an arm around her to hold her close. Then, with a nod to Summer, he calmly took K. away to the infirmary.

"She'll be all right in time," Tommy said calmly.

"What time? We don't have any left!" Scott exclaimed.

Tommy turned to Scott and shook his head. "There's still time left," he disagreed. "Listen, you never gave up during the battle for Corinth despite the fact that the odds were stacked against you. Mira Tricks, or Miratrix as she should be known, is nowhere near as powerful as Venjix was and, so far, hasn't killed as many people as Venjix did. This time, though, is different because it's the people who have turned against us as well."

Tommy paused for a moment. "Although I hate to admit it, that thought has frightened you into giving up hope. However, if you give up now, you're going to be giving up on everything that you fought for back then. The people of Corinth and their freedom. I don't think that any of you would really want to do that."

"It's too late, now," Flynn said simply. "Even if we did try one last time, Mira Tricks would still win."

"How would she?" Tommy countered. "We vastly outnumber her and, although we're down, we're not out yet."

"She would still win because she still has the people on her side," Dillon said simply.

"And there's no way on earth," Gemma began.

"That we would fight against them," Gem finished.

"Aye," Flynn agreed.

Tommy sighed. "If I have my way, she won't have the people on her side for much longer," he promised. "I can see that I'm quite clearly wasting my time here so I'm going to go."

Without another word, Tommy grimly left the RPM base.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Original base, late evening, another few minutes later_

"Go away, Tommy," Trini snapped as soon as he entered. "We don't need one of your pep talks right now."

"You quite clearly do if you're giving up this easily," Tommy countered. "Guys, what happened to you? You never used to give up despite the odds before. What changed?"

"Mira Tricks, that's what has happened to us," Zack replied quietly.

"Listen, guys, we've faced much greater odds than this before and we've overcome them," Tommy replied. "Remember when I was the Green Ranger under Rita Repulsa's control? Despite the odds being stacked against you, you never gave up on me whilst I was evil and, more importantly, you never gave up on defeating me to save Angel Grove despite the fact that I nearly destroyed you several times."

The other Original Rangers remained quiet as Tommy continued. "Remember when Rito destroyed the Dinozords? We never gave up then either and, in return, we got the Thunderzords. More recently, you guys never gave up hoping that I would find all of you despite the fact that you didn't know whether I was alive or not. If you guys give up now, everything that we swore to protect as the first Power Rangers will be lost forever and so will I."

They remained silent for a few moments before Tommy sighed. "Well, I tried," he muttered as he turned and left as he noticed the unconvinced looks in their eyes.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Dino Thunder base, late evening, another few minutes later_

"Go away, Dr O.," Trent said grimly as he sat on the bed quietly.

"No," Tommy said with a smile. "Do you guys remember that time that I was fighting for my life in hospital? Back then, even though you had lost your powers, you didn't give up on me and you didn't give up on stopping that villain despite the odds being against you. You guys are afraid of Mira Tricks, just like everyone else, I get it. What I don't get is why are you giving up?"

He paused for a moment. "There's still time and there's still hope. If you give up now, you'll be abandoning everything that I hope that you've learned from me and you'll be abandoning Conner and Ethan. I don't think either of you really want to do that."

They remained silent as Anton spoke up. "Perhaps you should go, Tommy," he suggested. "And take this with you."

Tommy sighed as Anton tossed him the Tiger Power Coin. He caught it and awkwardly got up.

"Just think on what I've said," Tommy said as he left.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zordon's bedroom, late evening, yet another few minutes later_

"Well?" Alpha asked as Tommy returned.

"It went badly," Tommy sighed. "In the end, I only convinced RJ not to give up."

"Tommy... you did your best. That is all that anyone could ever ask of you,"Zordon said gently as he awoke.

"Ai, Ai, Ai, Zordon, you're back!" Alpha exclaimed.

Zordon smiled as he weakly sat up. "What have I missed?"

"Quite a lot, Zordon," Tommy smiled sadly. "You see..."

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zordon's bedroom, very late in the evening, some time later_

"I see," Zordon said grimly.

"I don't know what to do, Zordon," Tommy confessed. "My plan was to try to get Cassidy to make a speech to tear away some of the lesser supporters from the ranks. Then, I was going to try to defuse the situation by stepping in but, now, I don't know if I'll be able to do it that way. I don't think that Cassidy will do it despite the fact that she _can _do it."

"Just give her a little more time, Tommy," Zordon reassured. "I'm sure that she'll come around."

Tommy sighed. "Yeah. If she still makes that speech, I'll still have to deal with Mira Tricks. I've got a broken arm and a nasty gash on my free arm because of the leap of faith that I made so I'm going to be at a serious disadvantage against her."

Zordon was silent for a moment. "It seems like I don't have any other choice, Tommy. I'm going to have to heal both of your arms."

"Oh no, Zordon, you can't do..." Tommy began.

"It's all right. I'll just need to go back into another deep coma for a little while longer but you're going to need both of your arms in order to fight Miratrix," he replied with a grim smile. "Take off the cast, and take out the stitches, Alpha."

Alpha nodded grimly and set to work on Tommy. Tommy grimaced a few times as Alpha easily removed the cast and the stitches because of the pain but, as soon as Alpha was done, Zordon began to work his magic.

Within a few minutes of tapping into his power, Zordon had healed the gash upon Tommy's right arm. Then, he began the more painful process of healing the broken one.

Tommy managed to bite his lip as the pain of healing his arm was intense. However, he still couldn't stop himself from swearing as the bone made an audible click to suggest that it had healed.

"There," Zordon said wearily. "How does it feel?"

"A little strange," Tommy said as he moved it whilst Alpha disposed of the cast and the stitches. "However, it isn't stiff or sore."

"Good," Zordon said as he lay back onto his bed. "What I said before still applies right now, Tommy. You're still going to need the Shield of Triumph to face Miratrix..."

"I know, Zordon," Tommy replied as he picked up the Shield of Triumph from where he had left it at the side of Zordon's bed. "Even if I have to face her alone, I'm ready to do it."

"Good luck," he whispered simply before he closed his eyes and fell back into unconsciousness.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, very late in the evening, at that very moment_

As soon as Devin spotted the torches the Anti-Ranger protest group and Mira Tricks were carrying as they approached, he grimaced and instantly set off the alarm.

It was time.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, very late in the evening, a few minutes later_

"Thanks, Devin," Tommy said as he entered the main Command Centre. "How many are there out there?"

"A couple of hundred, Dr O.," Devin admitted grimly. "Are you sure that you still want to face them?"

Tommy sighed. Then, he nodded. "Of course," he replied with a sigh.

At that moment, all the other Rangers, and their associated non-Rangers, entered the main Command Centre and none of them noticed that Tommy's arm had been healed by Zordon. This surprised him considerably as he turned to them.

"Don't do it, Tommy," Kimberly begged.

Tommy shook his head. "I've got to. Unlike all of you, I'm not going to lie down and let Mira Tricks win because I've not given up hope yet," he said calmly. "Have you all forgotten what it means to be a Power Ranger?"

There was silence for a moment before he continued. "We're servants of the people first and foremost. We're the defenders from evil and, because of this, we sacrifice our normal lives as your life can never be normal whilst you're a Power Ranger. However, we're also a family in a strange way. No matter how strongly the odds get stacked up against us, we don't give up and we stick together."

He paused again. "Above all things, though, we try our best to do what is _right_. It's often not the easiest course of action to take but it's the one which gives the right outcome at the end. Even if we fail, at least we've _tried_ to do the right thing and, more often than not, we'll often pick ourselves up and we'll try again."

He took a deep breath. "In all my years, I've never forgotten that. I've also never lost sight of the fact that our reward is when we see innocent people living out their normal lives whilst we're stuck with our not-so-normal lives."

Then, he fell silent. He could see that his words had shaken all those present and he smiled.

_At last, I'm getting through to them. _Tommy thought. _Although it might already be a little too late, at least it's a start._

"Dr O., they're getting closer," Devin warned.

"So, who's with me?" Tommy said grimly.

There was silence before RJ smiled.

"I am," he said simply.

"And so am I. I'll do it, Dr O.," Cassidy added as she pushed her way through the crowd of Rangers. Then, there was silence.

"Thank you, Cassidy," he replied simply. "Let's go."

Then, without another word, the three of them left the others in the main Command Centre.

_Outside Corinth City, Outside the Brachiozord Command Centre, very late in the evening, a few minutes later_

"The Rangers bring us evil!", "People Power! Not Ranger Power!" and "Down with the Rangers!" were amongst some of the chants the Anti-Ranger protest group made as they approached. Cassidy watched them, with RJ as her protection at her side, and sighed.

"Are you sure this thing works?" Cassidy whispered as she touched the wireless microphone headset that she was wearing. RJ tapped the microphone and, as the Brachiozord gave off a loud tapping noise in response, RJ nodded.

"Yes," he replied. "It works. Are you ready?"

She nodded. Truthfully, though, Cassidy Agnes Cornell wasn't ready at all. She was terrified and she wasn't sure if she would be able to do it. Dr O. had absolute faith in her but, to be honest, she wasn't sure if she would be able to deliver the results that he had wanted.

At that moment, the Anti-Ranger group spotted her and they started to laugh.

"Get out of the way, lady!" one of them shouted. At that moment, Cassidy remembered what Dr O. had said.

_Above all things, though, we try our best to do what is right. It's often not the easiest course of action to take but it's the one which gives the right outcome at the end. Even if we fail, at least we've tried to do the right thing and, more often than not, we'll often pick ourselves up and we'll try again. _She thought. _He's right._

Seconds later, Cassidy stunned them with a simple reply of, "No."

"Get out of the way," Mira Tricks growled.

"I said no," Cassidy replied defiantly. She was no longer afraid of Mira Tricks or the Anti-Ranger protest group and it showed.

_Yes, Cassidy. Come on, make the speech... _Tommy thought as he watched from where he was concealed on the back of the Brachiozord Command Centre at the side of the Brachiozord's massive neck. He had morphed into the form of the Black Dino Ranger moments before and, to his surprise, it helped him to utterly blend into his surroundings.

"I don't get how you've all miraculously forgotten how much the Rangers have done for Corinth. They constantly put themselves in danger to protect you all from Venjix and his forces. Despite the risks to their lives, they hunted far and wide for the _nine_, yes I said _nine_, bombs in Corinth. Although they managed only to defuse eight, they did their best to find and dispose of the last one but they were just too late," Cassidy said grimly. "Yet, despite the risks, they did their best to also save everyone who were trapped in the building."

"There were no Rangers inside the building," one of the protesters exclaimed.

"I was," RJ said simply. "And I wasn't the only one."

"Yes, the Rangers may not be perfect as they're human just like us. They have their faults and make their mistakes just like us but, at least, they do their best to try to protect the people from evil," Cassidy continued.

"Yeah right!" another protester exclaimed. "They were probably behind the bombs in the first place."

"No. They weren't," Cassidy said. "If you want to know who planted the bombs, look no further than your leader, Miss Tricks."

There was a stunned silence about this for a few moments. Then, a number of protesters seemed to realise that Mira Tricks had duped them and wasn't all that she seemed.

A number of others, though, who appeared to be hardcore Mira Tricks supporters, grew extremely angry.

"Get her!" Mira Tricks yelled. The angry protesters charged at Cassidy but, before they could reach her, RJ grabbed her hand and they vanished in a flash of light. The protesters looked around with confused expressions on their faces.

Tommy chuckled about their confusion and Mira Tricks heard him.

"Show yourself," she exclaimed. Tommy snapped his fingers and the entire Brachiozord began to glow a golden colour. Then, he calmly revealed himself.

"Welcome to my home, Mira Tricks," he taunted with an exaggerated gesture. "Do you like the lighting? I never thought that the Brachiozord's outside lighting would ever come in handy but, of course, I've just been proven wrong."

"Coward," she hissed. "You're hiding behind that helmet of yours like all the other Rangers. I bet that you're too scared to show your real face."

Tommy shook his head as he reached up to the helmet.

"Not today, Miss Tricks," he replied simply. "I admit that we've made a mistake by never showing our real faces but that's a mistake that I'm about to correct."

Without another word, he calmly removed the clasp which held his helmet on and cast his helmet to one side with a sigh of relief.

"You!" Mira Tricks said as she turned pale. It was clear to Tommy that she was extremely surprised by his identity.

Tommy shrugged as he calmly leapt down from the back of his Brachiozord.

"I bet you never saw that one coming," he said with a smile. "And, for the record, I'm not a criminal. Before the Venjix invasion, I was a champion stock car racer, a palaeontologist and a science teacher. Appearances can be extremely deceiving but, of course, you know that better than anyone Miratrix."

At that moment, Mira Tricks noticed that he was alone.

"Where are the other Rangers? Have they abandoned you?" she taunted.

"We're right here, Miratrix," Kimberly said simply. Mira Tricks looked up to see that all the other Rangers had amassed on the back of the Brachiozord where Tommy had been moments before. They were all without their helmets.

Only the Original Rangers leapt down to Tommy's side whilst the rest of them remained on the back of the Brachiozord. Out of the corner of his eye, Tommy noticed that a significant number of the Anti-Ranger protesters were beginning to thrown down their placards in disgust of Mira Tricks.

"It looks like the game is over for you Miratrix," Tommy said calmly. "Your supporters are beginning to see through your lies now to who you _really _are and I think that they can see that _you_ were the one responsible for the bombs in Corinth."

Mira Tricks cursed. "Stupid Rangers! You're always disrupting my plans. If it weren't for you, Corinth would already be _mine,_" she burst out angrily.

Trini smiled. "Whoops, you've made a big mistake there," she said with a smile. "Looks like the cat is out of the bag, Miratrix."

She growled. "No matter, Corinth will still be mine anyway. I'll just have to destroy you another way to get to it," she exclaimed as she began to cackle evilly. "And, for the record, it wasn't me who planted the bombs. Fresno Bob and his Scorpion Cartel did the dirty work on my behalf."

Seconds later, the disguise of Mira Tricks melted away to reveal the ninja Miratrix. The Anti-Ranger protesters grew alarmed instantly and began to back away from her.

"Let's get her," Zack exclaimed as he was about to rush into battle.

"No," Tommy said quite firmly as he stopped him. "She's mine."

"You're kidding, bro. She deserves to..." Jason began.

"This is something that I've got to do, Jason." Tommy replied grimly as he held the Shield of Triumph in one hand. "I know what I'm doing so don't get involved."

"Tommy, your arm..." Kimberly began as she blinked. Someone had finally noticed that it wasn't broken any more.

"Zordon dealt with it," Tommy replied with a smile. "I'm surprised that none of you noticed it sooner. Don't worry, I'll make sure that she pays for everything that she has done. Take the other Rangers and get the people out of here."

At that moment, he powered down. Then, he summoned Saba into his right hand as he held the Shield of Triumph with his left. Behind him, the others had begun to get the protesters away from what would soon become a battleground.

"Do you know who you're up against?" Miratrix asked as she and Tommy circled.

Tommy nodded. "An evil ninja with world domination on her mind. Do you know who you're really up against?" he countered.

"A weak Power Ranger," she snorted as she threw a bolt of blue lightning at him. Tommy blocked her attack with the Shield of Triumph as she drew her swords.

"No, you're up against Tommy Oliver and not, for once, the Power Ranger within me," Tommy replied. "And you're up against a survivor. I've survived through battles with more powerful villains than you so defeating you should be a piece of cake."

"Really? Let's find out then," Miratrix countered as she attacked.

Every blow that Miratrix landed, Tommy blocked with either Saba or the Shield of Triumph and they quickly became locked in a stalemate struggle. Eventually, though, she resorted to using bolts of blue lightning again. Tommy blocked them with the Shield of Triumph whilst, at the same time, he blocked Miratrix's blows.

The fight continued back and forth until Miratrix finally landed a blow which knocked Saba out of Tommy's grasp. Then, she lunged at Tommy who barely managed to block her attack against the Shield of Triumph as she pressed her advantage.

"Look who's at a disadvantage," she hissed.

"Not for long, Miratrix," Tommy countered as he reached out with his free hand. Saba reappeared in it.

"How..." she began.

"Saba is sentient," Tommy replied simply "And now you're going to learn that you should never have underestimated me."

With that, Tommy broke free of Miratrix and used Saba to knock away her swords. Then, before she could defend herself, he dealt her a powerful blow with an energy slash.

Miratrix screeched. "I'm not done yet, fool."

At that moment, Tommy groaned.

"Oh no..." he murmured just as Miratrix began to glow with an evil purplish glow. Then, she became a hideous owl and grew to a massive size.

"Tommy! Now, can we get involved?" Jason demanded as he rushed back. Tommy shook his head.

"No. She's still mine," he said firmly as he passed Saba to Jason. "She may have been powerful enough to transform into a hideous monster but she won't be powerful enough to stop me. Hold onto Saba for me."

Then, Tommy activated his communicator. "Devin, Cassidy, release the Mezodon Rover and the Triassic Megarover. Then, you must initiate Auxiliary Biozord release."

"Tommy, you can't be considering..." Hayley began as she interrupted on the communication link.

"Trust me, guys," he replied. "Tommy out."

At that moment, he deactivated the communication link. Seconds later, the Mezodon Rover tumbled out of the Brachiozord carrying the Triassic Megarover behind it. Grimly, Tommy leapt up into the Triassic Megarover and put the Shield of Triumph into the correct slot. As soon as it began to glow, Tommy smiled as the Mezodon Rover combined with the Triassic Megarover to form the Mezodon Megazord.

"Mezodon Megazord," he called.

"What's that little thing going to do?" she asked.

Tommy smiled. "This, Miratrix," he replied as the Auxiliary Biozords burst out of the Brachiozord at that moment. Seconds later, they came together with the Mezodon Megazord to form the Triceramax Megazord.

"Impressive but will it be enough to defeat me?" she asked.

"Just you watch," Tommy countered as he held the lance at the ready. As Miratrix lunged at him, that strange sensation overcame him and Tommy knew what he had to do. He forced the Triceramax Megazord to step aside and, as Miratrix hurtled past him, he began to twirl the lance to create a vortex to suck Miratrix into. Then, he fired.

Seconds later, there was a massive explosion and, grimly, Tommy watched as Miratrix was destroyed. However, he was quickly distracted by a painful burning sensation on his arm.

"What..." he gasped as he rolled up his sleeve and looked down at his arm. When he saw the golden lightning bolt, he turned pale.

"The mark of a Pai Zhua Master," he breathed. "But..."

He stared at it for a moment. Then, he quickly rolled down his sleeve again. He would talk to RJ about it later but, for now, he was just tired. He leapt out of the Triceramax Megazord and calmly watched it split into the respective Biozords before they returned to the Brachiozord. Then, he was greeted by all of the Rangers.

"I'm all right, guys," he assured them wearily. "We've had a long day so we should go get some rest."

"Yeah," Kimberly agreed as she yawned. "It has been a long day."

Tommy smiled and, without another word, they all began to make their way back to the Brachiozord to get some rest.


	29. Chapter 19: A Few Loose Ends

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 19: A Few Loose Ends

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Jungle Fury base, the next day, very early in the morning, some time later_

As Tommy crept into the Jungle Fury base, Dominic, Fran and RJ were sound asleep. He knew that he couldn't afford to disturb Dominic or Fran so he stayed as far away from them as he possibly could whilst he made his way over to RJ.

For a moment, Tommy thought that he would have to think up some way of waking RJ but, as soon as he arrived at the side of RJ's bed, he just knew what he had to do. Gently, Tommy flicked RJ's nose and, within seconds, he was awake. To make sure that RJ didn't wake the others, Tommy held his hand over RJ's mouth.

"Sorry for disturbing you, RJ, but we need to talk. Zordon's waiting for us up in the main Command Centre," Tommy whispered as he removed his hand. RJ sighed.

"Can't it wait?" he whispered in reply as he yawned. "I was having such a good dream for once."

"No, it's important," Tommy hissed in reply. "Come on."

RJ yawned again as he quietly slipped out of bed. "Fine. Let's go," he sighed.

Tommy nodded and they slipped back out of the Jungle Fury base into the corridor outside. Then, as quietly as possible, they began to make their way up to the main Command Centre.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, very early in the morning, a few minutes later_

"This had better be important, Tommy," RJ yawned as they stood before Zordon in the main Command Centre.

"Don't worry, it is," Tommy promised as he revealed the golden lightning bolt, the mark of a Pai Zhua Master, upon his arm. Both RJ and Zordon were instantly startled by it. "It appeared after I defeated Mira Tricks earlier. Just as she was destroyed in the explosion, I felt a burning sensation down my arm and, when I checked, it was there."

"Tommy. I've never seen or heard of anyone with a golden mark before," RJ warned as he took a deep breath. "Added to that, I've never heard of anyone, who hasn't trained for years in the arts of Pai Zhua, becoming a Master before."

"This is a strange development indeed," Zordon said finally. "I wonder what it could mean..."

"You don't think that it has anything to do with...?" Tommy began.

"I am not sure, Tommy. It could very well have something to do with _that_ but, then again, it could have nothing to do with _that_ at all," Zordon replied simply.

"Whatever it means, it's significant," RJ sighed. "I don't know how you could have gotten it, though, considering the fact that only those trained in Pai Zhua can become Pai Zhua Masters."

Tommy thought for a moment. "Ninjetti," he murmured softly as everyone looked at him.

"Do you remember when I said that the techniques of Ninjetti and Pai Zhua aren't so different?" Tommy asked RJ. "They're both based upon the animal spirit within and they're techniques which require years of training to master. Right now, I'm wondering whether or not they were once one and the same because of this mark."

RJ was startled by this as Zordon smiled. "It is a credible possibility, Tommy. If I was to speculate further on your guess, I would say that Ninjetti was the original technique and that Pai Zhua is descended from it."

"Why?" RJ asked. "Pai Zhua could've come..."

"No, Pai Zhua could not have come first," Zordon said quite firmly. "Ninjetti had to have been the original technique because of Ninjor."

"I'm afraid Zordon's right, RJ. Ninjetti would have to have come first because Ninjor, the creator of the Ninjetti technique, has been around for thousands of years whilst Pai Zhua has been around for less than a few hundred years," Tommy replied grimly.

"Exactly, Tommy," Zordon said with a smile before he turned grim. "We may never know for definite, though. Ninjor went into complete seclusion in the Temple of Power a long, long time ago and, since then, he will not have kept track of anything which he was involved in as he would have been too busy with his otherworldly affairs."

There was silence for another few moments before Tommy spoke up.

"So, are we going to tell the others?" he finally dared to ask.

"No," Zordon replied simply. "Not until we can figure out what exactly it means. From there, we will decide what to do about it."

"Let me guess, if it's anything to do with _that _then we're definitely not going to say a thing about it," Tommy said grimly. Zordon nodded.

"Of course," he replied simply as Tommy rolled his sleeve back down.

RJ yawned again. "So, can I go back to bed now?"

Zordon smiled. "Yes, you both should go get some rest. Tomorrow might be quite a long day."

RJ nodded and left as Tommy sighed.

"Something is troubling you, Tommy," Zordon noted as soon as RJ was gone.

"It's nothing important, Zordon," Tommy replied with a sad smile before he quickly changed the topic as Zordon yawned himself. "Perhaps you should go get some rest yourself, Zordon. You've had a harder day than the rest of us."

Zordon smiled at this but, before he could reply, Tommy had left the main Command Centre. Then, he sighed.

_That mark just proves that the world is still full of surprises. I wonder what tomorrow will bring... _he thought. Then, he sighed again as he yawned once more._ Tommy was right. I do need to get some more rest._

And, with that thought, Zordon of Eltar left the main Command Centre to get some well deserved rest.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, early in the morning, some time later_

As everyone sat there and continued to eat their breakfast, which consisted of cereal this morning, they didn't expect the beeping noise which came a few minutes later.

"Alpha, report!" Zordon demanded as Alpha rushed over to the nearby computer terminal. After a few minutes, Alpha sighed once he had managed to locate what had set the beeping noise off.

"It's Colonel Truman, Zordon," he replied. "He wants to talk to us."

Zordon nodded. "Patch him through, Alpha."

Alpha nodded and then began to furiously type in commands. Seconds later, Colonel Truman appeared as a holographic image in the centre of the table.

"Good morning, Colonel Truman," Tommy smiled.

"Good morning to you too," Colonel Truman replied grimly. "I must congratulate you for destroying Miratrix. Since her demise, the Anti-Ranger protest group has been quite quiet. We're waiting to see whether they will disband or not but, as far as we can now tell, they're no longer a significant threat. Over half the groups members removed their names from the list of members last night and I'm hoping that even more will leave this morning."

"That's good news," Billy said. "I'll be glad that we won't be having to keep an eye on our backs in Corinth any more."

"Yes. However, there's still a few loose ends which I need your help to clear up. Firstly, I need you to help me find Fresno Bob. Since being implicated in the bomb plot yesterday, he has gone underground. I've got all my security officers searching for him but, so far, he's eluded us," Colonel Truman said grimly. "I've also sealed all possible escape routes out of Corinth so he's got to be somewhere in the city."

"Yes! This is finally a task where I'll actually be of great use!" Ziggy exclaimed out loud. Everyone instantly turned to him. He shifted uncomfortably for a moment under their stares before he continued, "I've still got a few contacts in the Scorpion Cartel. I could pull some strings and get one of them to tell me the locations of Fresno Bob's current houses. From there, we could search each one until we find him."

Tommy nodded. "Very well. You and the other RPM Power Rangers can deal with this task by yourselves," he said.

Flynn blinked as Scott asked, "You're sending us on our own?"

"Of course," Tommy replied as he looked at them with a puzzled expression. "Why wouldn't I considering that you're perfectly capable of capturing Fresno Bob without the rest of us? Besides, I'm sure that your father has other things that the rest of us are going to need to take care of anyway."

Colonel Truman nodded in confirmation of Tommy's words. Then, he continued.

"Yes. Some of you are going to have to attend the mass funeral of all those unfortunate souls who perished in the unlucky thirteenth apartment block. We're going to need to truly show that you're just as sorrowful about what happened as the ordinary citizens are," he said.

They were instantly a few grimaces before Tommy sighed.

"If none of you want to do it then I'll go. I'm not fussed," he said. "Funerals are not the place for the faint-hearted."

There was a moment of silence before RJ spoke up.

"You're not going to go on your own. I'll come with you," RJ declared.

There were another few moments of silence before Tommy sighed yet again.

"Very well. RJ and I will come, Colonel," he said.

"That's good. I'll meet you at the church," Colonel Truman sighed. "There's still two more things that I need your help with. Firstly, there are bound to be a few Anti-Ranger protesters who haven't changed their minds about what they feel about you so we're going to have to think of a way of getting them back on side."

"I think that should be our job," Billy said grimly as he looked to the other Original Rangers. They nodded in reply. "We've been around for a long time so we know more about the mechanics of getting people on our side than most Rangers do. Furthermore, Jason, Zack and Trini represented Rangers at the World Peace Conference a long time ago so they'll also know about what common things people want to know about us. Anything that's definitely not an option?"

"Going on TV," Tommy replied quite firmly. "TV interviews and Rangers don't really mix very well."

"But..." Colonel Truman began.

"Trust me. They don't mix," Tommy interrupted firmly again as he shuddered. "It's a recipe for absolute disaster."

"Ok. I think that we can see that TV interviews are out of the question, Tommy," Trini assured.

"Don't worry, we'll think of something else, Tommy," Kimberly reassured as well.

Tommy nodded. "I know. So, Colonel Truman, what's the last thing?"

Colonel Truman smiled. "I'm looking for a Representative of Power Ranger Affairs now. It's in everyone's best interests that there's somebody who speaks on behalf of the Power Rangers so that we can avoid any further accusations of being secretive. I was wondering if you had any candidates in mind?"

Tommy chuckled. "I do. However, I know that you've already got one person in particular in mind, especially after yesterday, so what's the point in me voicing my suggestions? Why don't you just reveal who you've chosen, Colonel Truman?"

Colonel Truman sighed. "Very well. I was wondering if Miss Cornell would be happy to take up the position."

"Me? But..." Cassidy began.

Zordon shook his head. "You would be the most likely candidate considering the fact that you have had significant experience with the media and how to deal with it before," he said.

Cassidy was silent for a moment before she sighed. "I'll do it but on one condition," she replied firmly.

"Anything," Colonel Truman said.

"I want Devin to come with me," she said.

"Cassidy, I..." Devin began.

"Nonsense," she hissed. "It's the least that I can do for you."

"I'll have accommodation in the city, food and clothing arranged for you. Send them over to the Corinth Defence Headquarters whenever you get a chance and I'll take it from there," Colonel Truman said before he sighed. "I had better go. Vasquez needs my signature on a few things."

"Just before you go, Colonel Truman, I'd like to say that both Vasquez and Corporal Roberts did excellent jobs yesterday," Tommy said. "I hope that you consider them both for promotions."

Colonel Truman nodded. "Don't worry, I will. It's time that Hicks had some competition anyway as he's starting to feel too safe in his job. Besides, I was extremely impressed with Corporal Roberts myself and I need a good man like him further up the chain right now."

Then, without another word, Colonel Truman shut down the communication link and the holographic image in the centre of the table vanished. Zordon sighed.

"We have also got one problem that needs to be resolved. The Rhino Steel Zord and the Stegozord still have not been repaired because of what happened yesterday and it must be repaired as a matter of urgency today," Zordon declared grimly.

"Don't worry, Zordon. Anton, Tenaya 15 and I have agreed that we will repair the Zords," Dr K. replied with a smile.

"What about the rest of us?" Kira asked urgently. Tommy smiled.

"Everyone else has a day off," he said with a smile.

Kira smiled as she looked to Trent. "Thanks, Dr O.," Trent said.

Dominic yawned as Fran squeaked. "I think that Fran and I will probably go get some more rest. For some strange reason, I'm still absolutely exhausted this morning."

"Hayley and I plan to do some research," Alpha said.

"On my..." Billy began. Hayley nodded.

"Yes. We're going to see if we can find the problem and make it work again," she replied.

"Well, if that is everything, you are dismissed, Rangers," Zordon declared a few minutes later after everyone had finished their breakfast. The Rangers, and the associated non-Rangers, quickly got up at that point and left.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-morning, a few minutes later_

"Goodbye, Kira, Trent," Cassidy said as she embraced them. "I'm going to miss you both."

Kira and Trent sighed. "We're going to miss you too."

"You both can always come visit us, you know," Devin pointed out. "Right, Dr O.?"

Tommy smiled from where he stood at the console. "Of course they can. I'll make sure that we pay you a visit at some point," he promised.

"Thanks for everything, Dr O.. If you hadn't..." Cassidy began.

"You earned this job by yourself, Cassidy, by defusing the anger of many of the Anti-Ranger protesters yesterday. I just helped you to realise that you could do it," Tommy smiled as he shook his head.

Cassidy shook her head. "I can't take all of the credit. I..."

"Yes, you can," Tommy assured. "You and Devin both deserve a lot of credit for what you did yesterday. It took a lot of guts to face the Anti-Ranger protesters, Cassidy, and it took even more guts to not give up despite the fact the odds were against us, Devin. I'm proud of both of you."

"Thanks, Dr O.," Cassidy said as she sighed. "We're ready to go now."

"Just remember that the communicators which you're wearing can keep in contact with the main Command Centre. It's how we'll probably let you know if we've got anything that we need you to represent us on," Tommy replied as he activated the teleportation controls. "Prepare for teleportation. You'll arrive right in the middle of the Corinth Defence Force Headquarters so be prepared for a surprised Colonel Truman."

At that moment, Cassidy and Devin vanished in flashes of grey light as Tommy sighed.

"Dr O., will we get a chance to go see them at some point?" Trent asked.

Tommy sighed again. "I don't know. I'll try to make some time for us to go _somewhere _in the next few days but, to be honest, I don't know if we're going to be able to see them given how busy we are normally. There's a chance that they might have to wait until things get extremely quiet until we can see them."

Kira nodded just as the RPM Power Rangers entered the main Command Centre again_._

"You both should go now," Tommy warned. "I don't want to accidentally teleport you down into Corinth with the RPM Power Rangers."

Trent and Kira nodded and left as Tommy turned his attention to the RPM Power Rangers. Ziggy, Gem and Gemma seemed to be extremely excited about the mission whilst, on the other hand, everyone else wasn't because they had quickly grown sick of the three of them talking over and over about the same thing.

"Are you ready to go?" Tommy asked them. Scott sighed.

"Yeah," he replied simply. "We're ready."

"Just be careful out there. The Scorpion Cartel are really going to fiercely defend Fresno Bob with their lives if they have to," Tommy warned. "And Ziggy, your contacts had better not mess you and the other RPM Power Rangers around."

Ziggy nodded. "Don't worry, they won't," he promised.

"Prepare for teleportation," Tommy warned as he activated the controls. Seconds later, they vanished in flashes of coloured light.

Then, Tommy sighed. He stood still for a moment before he began to make his way down to the Dino Thunder base so that he could fetch a black suit.

_Corinth City, Outside the Scorpion Cartel Base of Operations, mid-morning, another few minutes later_

"Just why are we hiding here again?" Dillon asked as they stood behind a nearby building and watched the main door into the Scorpion Cartel Base of Operations.

"Aye, why are we hiding here?" Flynn agreed.

"Because," Ziggy hissed. "If we go near that door, we're dead in an instant."

At that moment, Ziggy smiled as he saw one of his few friends in the cartel, Benny, leave the building.

"Hey, Benny!" Ziggy hissed. "Over here!"

Benny looked up sharply and, when he saw Ziggy, he turned pale.

"Ziggy? What are you doing here? You know that..." Benny hissed back.

"Get over here and I'll explain everything," Ziggy hissed. Benny nodded and came over to them where they stood behind the nearby building. As soon as Benny came over, the RPM Power Rangers slipped out of sight of the main door in case anyone leaving the Scorpion Cartel spotted them.

"So, what are you doing here, Ziggy?" Benny asked.

"Colonel Truman has sent us after Fresno Bob," Ziggy admitted grimly. "And I need to know where he might be hiding."

"I can't tell you Ziggy," Benny replied. "If I tell you, and if the Cartel finds out that I told you, my neck will be on the line."

"Benny, you saw what Fresno Bob did at that thirteenth apartment block. Innocent people were killed because of that explosion and, if we don't stop him, he could kill more," Summer said gently.

Benny sighed.

"There are a lot of people within the Cartel who are disgusted by what Fresno Bob did. However, as he's our boss, we can't betray him. Our business has gone down the drain and, for the first time in our history, the other Cartels are also considering handing all of us over on a platter to Colonel Truman because our actions have ruined their businesses as well," he admitted.

"You can still save the Scorpion Cartel, Benny, if you tell us where to find Fresno Bob," Scott replied. "My father only wants Fresno Bob right now because he's the only one who has been implicated by Mira Tricks. As far as he's concerned, the rest of you didn't have anything to do with the bombing but, if we can't arrest Fresno Bob, that might just change."

Benny nodded as he took out a card and began to write down three addresses. "All right. I'll tell you but, if you're asked, you don't mention my name or the fact that a mole within the Scorpion Cartel told you where you might find him. He's got two houses in the city and a penthouse. As far as we all know, he's hiding in one of them. Here are the addresses."

"Thanks, Benny," Ziggy smiled as he took the addresses from Benny. "I won't forget this."

Benny sighed. "I know. If I'm ever arrested, will you..." he began.

"We'll see to it that you're acquitted of all charges," Scott assured. "It's the least that we could do for you now."

Benny nodded and walked away. However, he stopped as he realised something else and turned to Ziggy.

"You've got until nightfall to find Fresno Bob. He's planning to escape by blowing a hole in the city shields apparently. Good luck," he warned. Ziggy nodded as Benny turned back and walked away. Flynn snatched the card off of Ziggy.

"Well, let's go. The penthouse isn't far from here," he declared as he rushed off. The other RPM Power Rangers sighed and soon followed close behind him.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, mid-morning, at that very moment_

The five Original Rangers and Zordon sat at the top of the long table in the Ranger Planning Room.

"So Rangers, have you got any ideas how we're going to reconcile with the people?" Zordon asked.

There was absolute silence in response to this. Zordon sighed. It was obviously going to be a long day.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1, mid-morning, also at that very moment_

"Well, it looks like the Stegozord isn't going to need too much work. My nanotechnology should be able to repair it whilst we deal with the Rhino Steel Zord," Dr K. noted as she looked over both Zords.

"Well, we had better get started then," Anton sighed.

With a sigh, Tenaya 15 said, "I'll go get the required materials. You should start removing the destroyed panels."

Then, without another word, she left as Anton began to grimly remove the destroyed panels as Dr K. calmly set to work on utilising her nanotechnology to start the repairs on the Stegozord.

_Corinth City, Outside Fresno Bob's Penthouse, mid-morning, another few minutes later_

"Fresno Bob isn't here," Gem and Gemma said after they had searched the entire penthouse. "However, it did look like he had been here to fetch a few things. His bedroom was a mess."

"Well, his first safe-house is on the other side of the city. We should head over there," Flynn said as he checked the card. "It's certainly going to take us a while."

"Let's get going then," Scott said grimly. Without saying anything else, Flynn set off for the next house with the other RPM Power Rangers in hot pursuit.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Dino Thunder base, mid-morning, at that very moment_

As Tommy fetched both of his black suits, both of his pairs of fancy black shoes and two pairs of black sunglasses from his wardrobe, there was a knock at the door. Tommy instantly knew who it was and what they were after.

"Just come in, RJ," Tommy called. "Your morpher should let you in."

Outside, RJ must have held his morpher up to the scanner as there was a click as the door unlocked. Then, RJ came in.

"You're lucky that I've got a spare suit otherwise we might have had a problem. You can also borrow one of my many pairs of sunglasses as well," Tommy said with a smile as he turned to the door.

RJ groaned. "That's going to get quite annoying, Tommy," he warned.

Tommy shrugged. "It's a curse which I'll never be able to rid myself of but, fortunately, it's beginning to grow on me," he chuckled. "We had better hurry as the funeral must be starting soon."

RJ nodded and they quickly changed into the suits. Then, they put on the shoes and the sunglasses on.

"Let's go," Tommy said grimly as he left the Dino Thunder base. Within a few seconds, RJ followed suit and they began to make their way up to the main Command Centre.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Main Lab, mid-morning, also at that very moment_

"Anything, Alpha?" Hayley asked as she sent another powerful current of electricity through the Time Pulse. Alpha, from where he stood nearby as he monitored the results on the computer, shook his head as the screen remained blank.

"Nothing," Alpha replied grimly. "I'm sorry, Hayley."

Hayley sighed. "All right, Alpha. Let's go back to the drawing board again. There must be something which we're missing," she said grimly.

Alpha nodded and sighed. It was going to be a long day for them both.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, mid-morning, also at that very moment_

"Somebody must have an idea!" Billy exclaimed after a prolonged bout of silence in the Ranger Planning Room. No one had come up with an idea to deal with the remainder of the Anti-Ranger protest group. "We're all very intelligent people yet we still can't come up with a decent idea."

"Well..." Jason began. "I might have one."

"Tell us, Jason," Zordon said grimly.

"Well, we could..." he began.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1, mid-morning, also at that very moment_

"Repairs have fixed 50% of the damage to the Rhino Steel Zord," Dr K. noted as she ran a diagnostic check on the Rhino Steel Zord. Then, she grimly turned her attention to the Stegozord. "And the Stegozord has been completely repaired by my nanotechnology."

"I'll send it back to the Biozord hangar," Anton promised as he activated the controls. Seconds later, the bay door opened and the Stegozord left. Dr K. ran to the edge of the door and watched it as it returned through a hangar door further up the Brachiozord into the Biozord hangar. Then, she sighed and got out of the way as the bay door closed.

Then, she turned back to the Rhino Steel Zord, Tenaya 15 and Anton Mercer and sighed. "We had better keep going. The sooner that we can repair this Zord, the sooner that we can have a break," she declared.

And, with that, Tenaya 15, Anton Mercer and Dr K. continued to work upon the Rhino Steel Zord.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-morning, a few minutes later_

"Prepare for teleportation," Tommy warned RJ as he stepped back to his side after he had activated the controls.

Seconds later, they vanished in a flash of purple and multi-coloured light.

_Corinth City, Outside Fresno Bob's first safe-house, mid-morning, another few minutes later_

"He's not in there either," Gem said grimly.

"Yeah, we searched everywhere," Gemma added.

Dillon sighed. "Well, that means that he's got to be in that second safe-house," he said grimly as Flynn cracked his knuckles.

"I can't wait to get my hands on him," Flynn growled.

"Let me," Summer said calmly as she took the card off of him. "Hey, guys, you're not going to believe this."

"What is it?" Scott asked instantly.

"The final house is near the Corinth City Church," she replied. "Talk about coincidence."

Scott grimaced. "We're going to have to make sure that Fresno Bob doesn't escape us then. We don't want to upset any of the grieving mourners any further."

Ziggy grimaced. "That's going to be quite difficult," he said grimly. "Fresno Bob is a very slippery customer."

"Don't worry, we'll manage it," Scott assured as he nodded to Flynn. "Let's go."

Without another word, the RPM Power Rangers began to make their way to the final house and, they hoped, to Fresno Bob.

_Corinth City, Corinth City Church, late morning, another few minutes later_

"Over here," Colonel Truman said from where he sat at the back in the last pew on the left as RJ and Tommy entered the church. He was carrying a massive bouquet of white roses. Both RJ and Tommy grimly made their way over to him and sat at his side. The front rows of pews on both sides of the church were filled with many weeping relatives of those who had perished and, at the front, there were several coffins laden with flowers behind the minister.

Tommy looked at each of the coffins and he turned slightly pale. _Each one of them contains the body of someone that Mira Tricks murdered in her campaign against the Rangers. Each one of them contains a person who I couldn't save in time. _He thought to himself.

"Are we late?" RJ whispered to Colonel Truman. Colonel Truman shook his head.

"No. You've arrived just on time. The minister is just about to begin in a few minutes," he replied.

"Tommy, are you all right?" RJ whispered when he turned to Tommy and noticed that he was pale.

Tommy blinked. "I'm just fine," he replied simply as the minister cleared his throat.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn..." the minister began as he started the funeral service.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, late morning, at that very moment_

"That's rotten, Jason," Trini criticised as soon as Jason had finished detailing his idea. "Did you even remember about what Tommy said?"

"No TV interviews, right, but..." Jason began as Zordon sighed.

"I've got an idea," Zack interrupted. "We could..." he began.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1, late morning, also at that very moment_

"Repairs have fixed 75% of the damage to the Rhino Steel Zord," Dr K. declared with a smile as she ran another diagnostic check. "If we get that Zord Controls Circuit out and replace it, we'll be done here."

"You'll need to give us a hand then, K.," Tenaya called. "This circuitry is so badly fried that I can't seem to remove it."

Dr K. sighed. "I'm coming," she called back. Then, with a sigh, she went over to where Tenaya 15 was working to give her a hand.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Main Lab, late morning, also at that very moment_

"Well?" Hayley asked as she ran an even more powerful current through the Time Pulse.

"Still nothing," Alpha replied as the screen remained blank. Hayley sighed.

"I guess we're going back to the drawing boards yet again," she said grimly.

Alpha sighed. It was _definitely _going to be a long day at this rate.

_Corinth City, Outside Fresno Bob's second house, late morning, another few minutes later_

"He's here as his guards wouldn't be here otherwise," Ziggy said grimly, from where they were hiding in the hedges nearby, as he pointed to the two guards with guns.

"Here's the plan..." Scott began but, before he could tell them it, the guards spotted them hiding in the hedge. The guards were hesitant for a moment, which gave Dillon time to insert his engine cell into his morpher, before they opened fire.

"RPM, Get in Gear!" Dillon called as he activated his morpher. Then, he quickly activated his invincibility shield to protect himself and the other Rangers from the shots. "Gem! Gemma!"

"Right!" Gem exclaimed as they took out their Cloud Hatchets and switched them to ice mode. Then, they attacked. "Chill out!"

Seconds later, both guards were frozen solid. Dillon sighed in relief as he powered down.

However, his relief vanished when Ziggy cried out.

"Fresno Bob is escaping!" he exclaimed as he pointed to Fresno Bob as he fled out the front door of the second house and down the street towards the church. "And he's heading towards the church!"

"After him!" Scott exclaimed as he got to his feet and gave chase. A few seconds later, the other RPM Power Rangers quickly followed suit. They all knew that they had to stop Fresno Bob before he reached the church or escaped otherwise all hell would quickly break loose.

_Corinth City, Corinth City Churchyard, early afternoon, at that very moment_

In the churchyard, Tommy quietly watched with a sombre expression as the families threw bouquets of flowers onto the coffins of their deceased relatives.

RJ stood grimly at his side and, as Fresno Bob entered the churchyard with the RPM Power Rangers in hot pursuit, they both knew that he was there. They also both knew what they had to do.

As Fresno Bob continued to run through the graveyard, he was unknowingly heading rapidly towards his capture.

"On three," Tommy whispered to RJ.

"One..." RJ began to countdown as Fresno Bob grew ever closer.

"Two..." Tommy added.

"Three!" RJ exclaimed as they both did an intricate flip into Fresno Bob's path. Then, before he could react, RJ tripped up Fresno Bob as Tommy summoned Saba into his hands.

"What..." Fresno Bob began. There was a brilliant flash and Tommy morphed into the form of the White Ninja Ranger. Then, he held Saba's tip at Fresno Bob's neck.

"I wouldn't," Tommy advised quite simply as the shocked mourners turned to watch what was happening. At that moment, the RPM Power Rangers suddenly caught up and rushed over.

"Nice timing," Scott said as all of them caught their breath. Colonel Truman looked at them for a report. "Sorry, sir, but his guards gave us a bit of trouble."

The grieving mourners were angry. "Murderer! You should die for what you've done!" one of them yelled at Fresno Bob. "Because of you, my beloved son is dead."

There were a few moments of stunned silence before all of the mourners began to simultaneously hurl abuse at Fresno Bob. They were all upset about the fact that he had dared to show his face at their funeral of their loved ones.

RJ could sense that the crowd were beginning to get dangerous so he quickly decided to placate them.

"Death is a quick, painless punishment," RJ said to the mourners. "Jail, however, isn't. Fresno Bob won't ever see the light of day again."

"That I can assure you of," Colonel Truman added as Tommy grimly hauled Fresno Bob to his feet whilst keeping Saba at his neck.

"He's all yours, Scott," Tommy said grimly. "Make sure that he is put straight into the high security cell."

"You blew the door off that cell," Colonel Truman reminded him.

"Actually, I didn't. RJ did," Tommy replied grimly. "Just make sure that he doesn't escape you."

Scott nodded as Flynn and Dillon calmly held Fresno Bob's arms so that he couldn't escape. Then, they left as Tommy powered down. A few seconds later, Saba vanished.

"I'm sorry about that," Tommy apologised to the mourners. Most of the mourners smiled sadly at him.

"No, don't be sorry. It wasn't your fault that Fresno Bob chose to turn up," one of the older mourners said. "You did what you had to do to make sure that dangerous man didn't escape justice."

Tommy nodded but didn't say anything else as many of the mourners congratulated him for exactly the same reason before they turned their attention back to the funeral as the minister began to make a final speech.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, early afternoon, at that very moment_

"We could always hold an exhibition to educate the people about everything that the Rangers have done," Kimberly suggested quietly after another prolonged period of silence because of Zack's idea.

Everyone turned sharply to her. "That's a brilliant idea, Kimberly," Billy exclaimed. "Why didn't you say something before?"

She shrugged. "I didn't think that it would be any good," she said.

"Well it is," Trini countered. "And it would certainly defuse what remains of the Anti-Ranger protest group if they knew about our origins."

There were several murmurs of agreement from the other Original Rangers.

"Can I assume that we are going to use this idea?" Zordon asked with a smile.

All of the Rangers present replied positively to this so Zordon nodded.

"Very well, since we now have an idea to work with, you are all dismissed," Zordon declared. The five Original Rangers nodded and left the Ranger Planning Room as Zordon sighed.

"That went well," he said to himself aloud before he too followed after the Rangers to take up his chair in the main Command Centre.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1, early afternoon, also at that very moment_

"That's it," Dr K. said after she had run yet another diagnostics check. "Repairs have completely repaired all the damage done to the Rhino Steel Zord."

Both and Anton and Tenaya 15 sighed in relief.

"I'm going to go spend some time with my son," Anton said with a smile as he left.

"Are you coming, K.?" Tenaya asked. Dr K. nodded.

"Let's go," she said as they left the Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1 and headed back to the RPM base.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Main Lab, early afternoon, also at that very moment_

"Nothing again, Hayley," Alpha reported as the screen remained blank after they had increased the flow electricity to dangerous levels. Hayley sighed.

"Well, it seems that we're not going to make a breakthrough today. Let's leave the Time Pulse for now, Alpha, and we can come back to it again tomorrow," Hayley suggested.

"All right. I had better get up to the main Command Centre anyway," Alpha 5 replied. "I'll see you at dinner, Hayley."

Hayley sighed. Then, without another word, she quickly left as well because she didn't want to be stuck there thinking about the Time Pulse any longer.

_Corinth City, Corinth City Churchyard, mid-afternoon, some time later_

As grimly as possible, Tommy threw some of the white roses, from the bouquet that Colonel Truman had brought, onto each of the coffins on behalf of Colonel Truman and the rest of Corinth City. Then, once he had thrown all them, he stepped back and watched sadly as the graves were filled in.

Once the graves were full, they turned to look at Colonel Truman who nodded to him.

"Go," he said softly. "With Corinth's blessings for the service which you did for the city today by apprehending Fresno Bob."

They both nodded but, before RJ could use his communicator to contact Alpha, Tommy calmly put his hand on RJ's shoulder and activated the inbuilt teleport controls in his communicator. Then, they both vanished in a flash of multi-coloured light.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-afternoon, a few minutes later_

When RJ and Tommy reappeared in the main Command Centre, they startled both Zordon and Alpha.

"Tommy... you didn't..." Alpha began.

"Relax, Alpha," Tommy smiled as he removed his hand from RJ's shoulder. "I just used the teleportation function in my communicator. I didn't want you to waste your time teleporting us out of there."

RJ was feeling quite nauseous. "You should've warned me," he exclaimed.

Tommy grimaced. "Sorry, RJ," he apologised.

"You both should go change out of those suits," Zordon warned.

"We'll go right away, Zordon," Tommy promised as he grabbed RJ's arm. "Come on, RJ."

RJ nodded grimly and they both left the Command Centre at that point to go get changed.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, early evening, some time later_

As Tommy took his seat at the head of the table, in a white shirt and black trousers, everyone instantly turned to him to deliver status reports whilst Cestria dished out dinner.

"Fresno Bob is tightly secured in his own little high security cell," Scott said to Tommy. "He tried to escape a few times but Dillon quickly taught him that it wasn't a good idea to fight a hybrid."

Tommy chuckled. "I can imagine," he said simply as Dr K. stood up. "K.?"

"I'm pleased to inform you that both the Stegozord and the Rhino Steel Zord are completely repaired," Dr K. said with a smile. Tommy nodded as Dominic grinned.

"You can't keep a Rhino down," he declared. "Thank you, K.."

As Cestria reached Tommy, she calmly bent down as she served him dinner.

"Tommy, Alpha and Hayley still haven't made a breakthrough with the Time Pulse," she whispered. Tommy nodded.

"Thank you," he replied. "What about you guys, Jason?"

"We came up with the idea of educating the people through an exhibition about Power Rangers at the Corinth City museum, Tommy," Jason replied simply.

Tommy smiled. "That would work. I'll pick out the exhibits myself and I promise you that I'll get Colonel Truman's permission to use the museum," he said as he calmly began to eat his dinner like almost everyone else.

Ziggy, however, was excitedly waving his arms around, with knife and fork in hand, as he told Kira and Trent about what had happened by doing a strange re-enactment of the capture of Fresno Bob.

As he moved to show how RJ and Tommy had stopped Fresno Bob, the fork flew out of his grasp towards the top of the table. Tommy instantly knew what had happened and, as the fork hurtled towards its intended target, he instantly took up his knife. Then, he threw the knife to intercept the fork and to knock the fork harmlessly to one side before it could hurt anyone.

Just before the fork reached Kimberly, the knife clattered into it and sent it flying harmlessly towards the floor as she cried out in fright.

All present were startled by this display of skill and, instantly, everyone looked to Tommy who was calmly eating away as if nothing had happened. However, something had happened as both Tommy and Zordon's teeth were aching at that moment.

"Wow, bro, that was cool. How on earth...?" Jason asked.

"It was me," Zordon lied quickly. "I used Tommy to throw the knife because, if I had thrown it, it would not have intercepted that fork in time."

Tommy nodded in uneasy agreement to Zordon's words.

"Yeah. It was all Zordon," he lied. "Are you all right, Kimberly?"

She nodded but it was clear that she was quite shaken. "I'm fine. Thanks, Zordon," she replied.

Zordon nodded. "You are welcome," he replied simply as he returned to his dinner. At that moment, RJ opened his mouth to ask a question but quickly shut it again at Zordon's sudden glare.

"You're going to have to be more careful Ziggy," Kimberly warned. "Next time, we might not be so lucky."

"Yeah," Tommy agreed as he continued to eat his dinner. Ziggy nodded and instantly calmed down.

After a few minutes, everyone but Tommy, RJ and Zordon had completely forgotten about what had just happened. When both RJ and Tommy looked to Zordon, he mouthed "later" back at them as he didn't want the others to know about what had really happened.

"Hey Tommy, do you think that it'll get quieter around here for a few days?" Zack asked. "There has been no sign of Zedd or any other villain today."

Tommy shrugged. "It probably should get much quieter here now for a few days. Zedd was put in his place yesterday so he shouldn't be back for a while and, as for the rest of them, the other villains don't appear to be in Corinth right now."

"There's Rito, Tommy," RJ reminded him. Tommy shook his head.

"I know that he's not here any longer," he disagreed. "After that battle between us, I think that he left Corinth, guys, because he would have showed up by now if he hadn't."

"I agree, Tommy," Zordon said. "Rito is no longer in Corinth."

At that moment, Tommy completely finished his dinner and sighed.

"I'm going to get some rest," he declared as he left the Ranger Planning Room.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, the next day, very early in the morning, some time later _

"... I'm sorry, Zordon. I just couldn't help myself," Tommy protested. "It just happened. I just knew that Ziggy had thrown that fork and I just knew I had to throw that knife to stop it hitting Kimberly. Isn't that what the "knowing" sensation is all about?"

RJ shook his head. "We may have the knowledge of what must be done and when it must be done for but the skills we use to complete our task are our own. No Pai Zhua Master would be able to throw as accurately as you did earlier," he countered.

"I'm afraid that RJ is right, Tommy," Zordon replied grimly as Tommy turned away. "I am going to have to keep a very close eye on you now because your powers must have awakened. You are going to have to proceed extremely carefully from now on because, if you make a mistake, someone else could potentially get hurt."


	30. Chapter 20: Disastrous Dates

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 20: Disastrous Dates

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Training Gym, several days later, very early in the morning, some time later_

"Wow, you're as good as they said you were, Tommy," RJ exclaimed as he and Jason sparred with Tommy in the Training Gym. Since Fresno Bob's arrest, things had been remarkably quiet in Corinth and everyone was beginning to become restless due to a lack of action. Tommy, RJ and Jason had been the worst affected by this restlessness and had been unable to sleep that night. Hence, they had decided to spar to pass the time and to improve their fighting styles.

Predictably, Tommy was outmanoeuvring them both at that moment with moves that both of them were struggling to counteract.

"Thank you," Tommy replied with a smile as he dodged a punch from Jason and a kick from RJ at the same time. "It's good to know that all the hours that I spent training are paying off."

At that moment, he knocked both RJ and Jason to the floor and smiled. "I win," he continued simply.

"That's what you think," Jason countered as he launched a sneak attack by trying to trip Tommy up. Tommy, however, easily avoided it.

"That's what I _know_," Tommy corrected simply as he smiled and helped them up. "So, what are you both going to do today?"

RJ smiled. "I'm going to take Dominic, and a number of the RPM Power Rangers as "assistants", down to my pizza parlour for the day. I've been asked to cater for Trent and Kira whilst they're on their date whilst, at the same time, the RPM Power Rangers have insisted that I cater for Dillon and Summer whilst they're on their date as well," he said. "I'm looking forward to it."

"I'm taking the other Original Rangers and Cestria to the lakeside to have a bit of fun," Jason said with a grin. "What about you, Tommy?"

Tommy instantly took on an embarrassed expression. "It's a secret," he replied simply. RJ knew instantly what Tommy was going to do that day.

"He really means that he's going to ask Kimberly out on a date," RJ added simply.

Tommy grew more embarrassed at this.

"I knew it! You just couldn't resist," Jason chuckled as Tommy looked down at the floor.

"I only want to spend a little time with her," he protested. "That's all."

"He really means that he's still got feelings for her," RJ added again.

Tommy grew even more embarrassed as both Jason and RJ burst out laughing about his embarrassment.

"All right! All right!" he exclaimed as he threw his hands up in the air after a few minutes because he just couldn't take them laughing at him any longer. "You're right, RJ. I admit that I still have feelings for Kimberly. Happy?"

The laughter stopped at that moment as both Jason and RJ composed themselves.

"So, where do you plan to take Kimberly anyway?" Jason asked.

Tommy smiled slightly at this. "Courtesy of Colonel Truman, I've got a table for two, and a pair of two course meals plus refreshments, at the most expensive and poshest restaurant in town for free," he explained. "Apparently, it's his way of rewarding me for getting rid of Mira Tricks and for capturing good old Fresno Bob as well."

"Well, all we can do is wish you good luck, Tommy. However, you're going to need a back-up plan. What will you do if you Kimberly doesn't accept?" RJ asked.

Tommy shrugged. "If she doesn't accept my offer, I'll give the table at the restaurant to Kira and Trent and go with Jason and the others to the lakeside," he replied simply. "I won't be that bothered."

There were a few moments of silence during which everyone studied Tommy's expression to see if he was lying about whether or not it would really bother him. However, neither RJ or Jason could see whether he was lying or not so they both decided to change the subject.

"It's been so quiet over the past few days. I fear that the evils are up to something. They may just be waiting until we let our guard down before they strike," RJ said grimly.

"Let's hope not," Tommy replied. "The exhibition on the "History of the Power Rangers" starts today and I don't want our chance of reconciliation with those who are still against Power Rangers to be spoiled completely by evil."

There were another few moments of silence during which everyone considered the consequences of not getting the few remaining Anti-Ranger protesters on side before Jason sighed.

"Knowing our luck, it probably will," he said quietly. "Come on, we had better head up to the main Command Centre now. It should be about time for breakfast anyway."

Tommy blinked. "You're right. It is probably about time for breakfast right now," he said as he made his way to leave before turning back to them. "Aren't both of you coming?"

RJ and Jason nodded.

"Of course we're coming," Jason replied simply. Seconds later, both of them followed after Tommy as he headed up to the main Command Centre.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early in the morning, a few minutes later_

"Good morning," Alpha 5 said politely.

"Hey, Alpha. How is everything?" Tommy asked.

"Quiet still, Tommy," Alpha sighed. "Everyone else has already gathered in the Ranger Planning Room so all of you should probably go join them."

Tommy nodded and, without saying anything else to Alpha, the three of them made their way down to the Ranger Planning Room.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, early in the morning, another few minutes later_

As Tommy, RJ and Jason took off their helmets and put them beside their chairs before they sat down at the table, Zordon smiled.

"Now that everyone is here, I just wanted to say that everyone has the day off again. There are no signs of evil activity anywhere in Corinth. I must admit that I am started to get worried that the great evils are up to something," Zordon began as Cestria began to hand out breakfast. This morning, it was cereal. "However, I do have some news."

Everyone looked to him attentively as he continued, "Fresno Bob was sentenced to life without parole yesterday in his fast tracked trial. And the Scorpion Cartel is in disarray because of the loss of their leader."

"Let's hope that the infighting causes them to disband," Scott said simply as Cestria finished handing out breakfast.

"I agree, Scott," Tommy replied. "If they disband, it will be one less problem that we'll have to deal with here in Corinth."

Everyone began to eat their breakfast at that moment and nothing else was said for a few minutes until RJ spoke up.

"I hope that you're prepared to work hard for me today, RPM Power Rangers. If you aren't, I'm not going to give you that free pizza for the romantic date between Dillon and Summer that you pestered me for," RJ said warningly.

Dillon and Summer instantly spat out their cereal back into their bowl in surprise as Scott, Flynn and Ziggy grinned.

"Guys, you seriously didn't..." Dillon began as he glared at Ziggy, Scott and Flynn.

"We thought that you might benefit from some time with Summer, Dillon," Scott said with a straight face. "You've certainly earned it."

Summer was red with embarrassment. "I can't believe you guys," she said. "RJ, I'm sorry but we..."

"Hey, Summer, Dillon, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss your date. You never know, it might actually be fun," Trent said with a shrug. "Kira and I are certainly going to enjoy our date at the Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour. It'll be the first time in a few years where we can just be normal people and not Power Rangers."

"Yeah," Kira agreed simply. "You should both go on that date."

Summer and Dillon looked at each other for a moment before they sighed.

"Fine, we'll go. Why should we waste a free meal anyway?" Dillon said with a shrug.

"And we'll try to make the most of it," Summer added.

"Keep it in mind, my friends, that you'll get to see your fellow team-mates working hard catering for my needs and the needs of my customers," RJ pointed out.

Scott shook his head. "We didn't..." he began.

"I'm afraid that you did," Dominic countered. "You don't get something for free from RJ and I without having to earn it."

Tenaya 15 smiled as most of the RPM Power Rangers, with the exception of Summer and Dillon, groaned at the notion of work.

"Don't worry, guys. I'm sure it will be fun for all of us," she said simply in reassurance.

"You're coming too?" Ziggy asked.

She nodded. "Yes, I'm going in _your_ place," she replied simply.

Ziggy was confused. "But I thought..." he began.

"You're not going, Ziggy. I'm giving you the very special assignment of looking after Dr K. today," Tommy replied simply. "I want you to make sure that she enjoys herself and gets out of the Brachiozord for a while."

Ziggy nodded as he grinned at his friends. "I can do that. Where is K. anyway?" he asked.

"She didn't want to come up to breakfast this morning. She said something about wanting to start work on the Ninjazords," Gemma replied simply.

"Ah," Ziggy said simply. "So, what about the rest of you?"

"We're going to the lakeside with Cestria to chill out for a while," Jason replied simply. "Anton, Hayley, do you wish to join us?"

"Of course, I'd like to go. It sounds like fun," Anton replied simply.

"I'm going too. It'll be nice to get some proper rest," Hayley added as everyone had finished their breakfasts.

"Well, it sounds like everyone is going to have a busy time today," Zordon said simply. "Let us hope that evil does not ruin it."

"We should go get ready to go," Tommy agreed.

And, with that, the Rangers scrambled to leave the Ranger Planning Room.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early in the morning, a minute or so later_

As everyone hurriedly left the main Command Centre, Tommy nearly missed his chance to ask Kimberly out. However, she fortunately tripped up before she left the main Command Centre which gave Tommy the perfect chance to ask her out as he rushed to her side.

"I'm sorry, Tommy. I'm not usually this clumsy," Kimberly apologised as he helped her up. Everyone else had left by that point so they were now alone in the Command Centre together.

"Why are you apologising? There's nothing that you need to apologise for," he replied with a brilliant smile.

They stood in silence for a moment before Kimberly noticed that Tommy seemed quite nervous. When she listened, she could hear his wild and erratic heartbeat.

"Ok, what is it?" she said to simply cut to the chase. "You seem quite nervous right now, Tommy, so it's obvious that you're wanting to say something important to me."

Tommy grew flushed and sighed. _I was never good at asking her or anyone else out. I'm not surprised that she could tell that I'm so nervous right now. _He thought as he stood there.

"Well?" Kimberly said as she waited for him to say what he wanted to say.

"Well, um... I was wondering whether or not you would be able to go with me to the poshest restaurant in Corinth on a date. You see, Colonel Truman gave me a two course meal for two there, as a reward for capturing Fresno Bob and for getting rid of Mira Tricks, and I can't obviously go alone. Besides, you were..." Tommy began.

Kimberly smiled. "Yes, I would love to go," she replied simply as she interrupted him.

He smiled.

"I thought that you might. To avoid everyone gossiping about us, it might be best for us both to meet at the restaurant," he said simply.

"They can gossip all they like anyway," she replied simply. "It's not a big deal. We're just going as friends."

"Yeah," Tommy agreed. "We had better go get ready before anyone gets any ideas. I'll meet you at the restaurant."

Kimberly nodded and they parted ways as they left the main Command Centre to prepare for their date.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Dino Thunder base, early in the morning, some time later _

"Relax, Tommy," Anton said for the hundredth time as he watched as Tommy tried to put on his black suit from one of the nearby beds. Tommy's hands were trembling slightly as he tried to button the suit jacket up so he was struggling a great deal. Eventually, Anton had seen enough.

"Here, let me,"Anton said simply as he got off the bed and, despite Tommy's protests, began to easily to button the jacket up.

"Why are you wearing that suit?" Kira asked. "And, why are you so nervous anyway, Dr O.?"

"I'm meeting Colonel Truman again today," Tommy lied. "And I'm not nervous."

"You're clearly nervous, Dr O.," Trent replied. "Do you know what? I don't think that I've ever seen you so nervous before."

Kira blinked. "I've never seen you so nervous either, Dr O.," she added.

"I'm not nervous," Tommy protested.

"Whatever you say, Dr O.," she replied simply. "Whatever you say."

"Hey, Kira, we had better head up to the main Command Centre now," Trent pointed out after a moment of silence. She nodded and they both left at that moment. As soon as they were gone, Tommy relaxed a tiny bit as Anton continued to button up his suit jacket.

"So, where are you really going, Tommy?" Anton asked as he chuckled. "Colonel Truman is busy dealing with the security around the "History of the Power Rangers" exhibit today so you're obviously lying about meeting him."

Tommy stiffened and Anton started chuckling even more as he finished buttoning up the suit jacket.

"You're going out on a date, aren't you?" he asked simply. Tommy sighed.

"Technically, it's not a date. However, I swear that you'll regret it if you tell anyone about this," Tommy threatened as he confessed.

"Who's the lucky girl?" Anton asked.

Tommy's face took on an embarrassed expression and Anton guessed instantly who Tommy had asked.

"It's Kimberly, isn't it?" he said simply. Tommy nodded. "How on earth did you manage to ask her out?"

"Well..." Tommy began as he began to tell Anton everything.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, RPM base, early in the morning, at that very moment_

When Kimberly entered, only Summer was still in the base. Everyone else had already left to gather in the main Command Centre but she had stayed behind to apply a little make-up in front of the only mirror in the kitchen.

"Summer..." Kimberly began hesitantly as she approached her.

Summer turned instantly at the sound of Kimberly's voice and could tell by the expression upon Kimberly's face that there was a problem.

"What's wrong?" Summer asked instantly.

Kimberly looked to the floor nervously. "Promise me that you won't tell anyone else about this," she begged.

Summer nodded. "I won't," she vowed as she put down the lipstick that she had just finished applying. "So, what's wrong?"

"Well, you see..." Kimberly began as she nervously began to detail her problem.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, RPM base, early in the morning, a few minutes later_

"I see," Summer said finally as she smiled when Kimberly had finished telling her about the problem. "Don't worry, I won't tell the others."

"So, would I be able to borrow one of your dresses?" Kimberly asked.

Summer nodded. "Sure. I can think of one that would suit you just perfectly but, unfortunately, it's still in my room in the RPM Command Centre. Would you be able to take me there?"

Kimberly nodded. "Of course," she replied simply as she activated the teleport controls and programmed in the coordinates. Then, she took Summer's hand as she warned, "Be prepared for a bit of a bumpy ride."

And, before Summer could say anything else, they vanished in a flash of pink and yellow light.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zord Construction Bay, early in the morning, at that very moment_

"Dr K., there you are," Ziggy said as he found her working away in the Zord Construction Bay. By the looks of things, she was trying to build up the hull of one of the Ninjazords and, so far, she had managed to get about half of it done by herself.

"What do you want, Ziggy?" Dr K. snapped as he entered.

"Well, I was wondering whether you would want to come to Corinth with me today or not," Ziggy replied.

"I don't, Ziggy," she replied simply. "I've got a lot of work to do here upon the Crane Ninjazord."

"But K..." Ziggy began.

"I said that I don't want to go, all right?" she snapped again. "Now, would you mind leaving me in peace?"

"No," Ziggy replied with a smile. "I'm not leaving you until you agree come with me to Corinth today. You're not staying here in the Brachiozord all by yourself for the entire day whilst everyone else gets the day off."

"Ziggy! You can't..." she exclaimed angrily at him as he shrugged whilst he found something to sit on and started to whistle so that K. couldn't just ignore him.

"No matter what you say, K., I'm not going anywhere," he said firmly. "Not until you agree to come to Corinth with me today."

Dr K. was infuriated by this. She knew that she wouldn't be able to work with him whistling to distract her and she knew that, no matter how hard she tried to get rid of him, he wouldn't go away until she agreed to go with him into Corinth City for the day. After taking a few moments to consider the situation, Dr K. realised that Ziggy had her right where he wanted her and that she didn't have any other choice but to accept.

"Fine," she growled as she angrily threw down her tools back into the nearby toolbox and kicked the lid shut. "I'll go with you if it gets you to stop that annoying whistling."

Ziggy smiled, unafraid by her fury, and took her hand as he stopped whistling.

"You're not going to regret it," he promised as he dragged her out of the Zord Construction Bay to the main Command Centre.

_Corinth City, RPM Command Centre, early morning, a few minutes later_

As soon as Kimberly and Summer appeared in the RPM Command Centre, Summer went straight up the stairs to her bedroom. Then, she went over to her wardrobe and began to rummage through the mountain of clothes that it seemed to contain. When Kimberly entered Summer's bedroom a few minutes later, she couldn't quite believe the amount of clothes Summer actually had and she also couldn't believe that Summer's wardrobe hadn't already burst.

"So, tell me, what do you think of this one?" Summer asked as she pulled out a beautiful pale pink dress that had a stylish silver belt wrapped around the hangar it was on.

"Wow," was all Kimberly could say as she admired it. It certainly looked beautiful but it also looked extremely expensive as well.

However, until she noticed the diamonds arranged into a heart upon the golden buckle of the belt, she didn't quite realise how expensive it was. As soon as she realised how expensive it was, Kimberly instantly shook her head because she didn't want to take anything too expensive in case she accidentally ruined it at the restaurant.

"Well, try it on then," Summer urged seconds later.

"I can't take this dress, Summer. It's one of your more expensive ones and I wouldn't want to ruin it," Kimberly protested. "Don't you have a slightly less flashy dress that I could borrow?"

Summer shook her head as she forced the dress into Kimberly's hands. "You're taking this dress, Kimberly," she said firmly. "You don't need to worry about ruining it and you certainly don't need to worry about how expensive it is either. All that matters is that you look good for your date today."

"He's not my date," Kimberly protested. "We're only going as friends."

Summer rolled her eyes. "That's what they all say," she smirked. "You go next door into Gemma's room and try that dress on whilst I try to find the pair of shoes that go with this dress. I'll bring them through in a few minutes."

Kimberly sighed and nodded as she went into Gemma's room. At the same time, Summer began to search for the shoes that matched the dress.

When Summer came through a few minutes later with a silver pair of flat shoes, Kimberly had managed to put the dress on and was staring at herself in the mirror. When Summer came up to stand behind her, it was clear that the dress suited Kimberly as it made her look absolutely stunning. It showed off her features well and Summer knew that it would certainly leave Tommy speechless.

"What do you think?" Kimberly asked nervously.

"You look beautiful," Summer assured. "Here, these are the shoes that go with this dress. I think that they'll fit you as we seem to have similar sized feet."

Kimberly nodded and tried them on. Sure enough, they were a perfect fit.

"And now you're ready," Summer said with a smile as she took Kimberly's hand. "Come on, we should go."

"But what about..." Kimberly began as she looked to where her clothes lay upon Gemma's bed.

"We can take them back to the main Command Centre before you drop me off at the Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour," Summer assured. "Come on."

Kimberly sighed and activated the teleport controls upon her communicator. Seconds later, they both vanished in a flash of pink and yellow light.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early in the morning, at that very moment_

"Right, is everybody ready to go?" Alpha asked.

"We're ready," Jason replied with a smile as he and everyone heading down to the lake were dressed in typical summery clothing.

"But wait, what about..." Trini began.

"Kimberly's not coming," Jason interrupted firmly. "Send us away, Alpha."

Alpha nodded and activated the teleport controls. Seconds later, everyone heading to the lake vanished a flash of coloured light.

Next, it was the turn of Dr K. and Ziggy.

"K and I are ready to go," Ziggy assured. "Don't worry, I'll make sure that K. enjoys herself."

Tommy smiled and nodded as they vanished in a flash of coloured light. Then, he turned his attention to the final group.

"I hope that you have a good day at your restaurant, RJ," Tommy smiled.

"I'm sure that I will," RJ replied as he made several exaggerated gestures as he continued with, "Besides, I've got all these helpers so I'm sure that my job will be so much easier today."

"Prepare for teleportation," Alpha warned.

"Wait, what about Summer?" Dillon asked.

"She'll probably be with Kimberly right now. Don't worry, either Kimberly or myself will bring her down to the restaurant," Tommy assured just before the final group vanished.

At that moment, Zordon entered the main Command Centre and sat down. Tommy sighed.

"Haven't you got a date to go to, Tommy?" Zordon said simply with a mischievous smile upon his face. Tommy grew embarrassed.

"It's not technically a date, Zordon," Tommy protested as he activated the teleport controls built into his communicator. "We're going only as friends."

"Regardless, I wish you good luck today," Zordon smiled just before Tommy vanished in a flash of multicoloured light.

"Ah, love," Alpha sighed simply to Zordon. "I'll never understand it."

Zordon laughed helplessly at this. "Alpha, neither will I," he replied simply.

_However, I'm sure that you will understand it someday if I have my way... _He added silently to himself as he sat there.

_Corinth City, Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour and its surrounding area, mid-morning, a few minutes later_

As Kimberly and Summer reappeared outside of the Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour, the entire street was eerily quiet as it was still quite early. There were no signs of life anywhere and Kimberly was slightly unnerved.

"Where is everyone?" she asked Summer as she looked around. "Is it normally this quiet here?"

Summer smiled. "No, not at all. However, I'm guessing that it's so quiet right now because RJ's customers aren't around. I'm sure that it'll get pretty lively as soon as word spreads that he's open for business again today," she replied. "Enjoy your date, Kimberly."

"It's not technically a..." Kimberly began. However, she never had a chance to finish her sentence because Summer had already left her to head into the parlour. She sighed.

Then, she activated the teleport controls. Seconds later, she vanished in a flash of pink light.

_Corinth City, Posh Restaurant, mid-morning, at that very moment_

As soon as Tommy entered through the revolving doors into posh restaurant, he was startled by just how posh it was. He knew instantly as he looked around that this place had to belong to the Cartels as no one else in Corinth would be rich enough to own it. The chairs were all covered in red velvet padding and, like a lot of the furnishing in the restaurant, were silver and of a contemporary design. There was a marble fountain gushing water in the centre of the front part of the restaurant and elegant

Tommy then wondered how Colonel Truman had managed to get a table here but he was interrupted in mid-thought by a waiter who approached him.

"Sir..." the waiter began. "Do you have a booking?"

Tommy blinked. "Yeah," he replied as he fished out the details from his pocket and passed them to the waiter. "The details are here, I think."

As soon as the waiter saw the details, he was quite surprised and hastily gestured to Tommy to follow him.

Tommy hesitated for a brief moment before he followed the waiter who led him through to the back into what seemed to be the VIP area, as it was guarded heavily by security guards, and settled him down into the poshest table, for two, at the back. Unlike the front part of the restaurant, the chairs were gold plated and the tables were marble. There were also quite a lot of expensive looking paintings hanging upon the walls and Tommy knew that this definitely had to be where the leaders of the Cartels ate.

"Are you expecting anyone to join you today, sir?" the waiter asked. Tommy smiled.

"I am. I'm sure that she'll be along soon enough," he replied simply. The waiter nodded as another waiter brought a selection of wines through. "We have a fantastic selection of wines, which one do you wish to have?"

Tommy looked over the bottles for a moment before his eyes settled upon the vintage bottle of white wine which was both the least expensive wine and the one that looked likely to taste good out of all of them.

"I'll take that one," he said as he pointed to the bottle of white wine. "She hates red wine."

The other waiter nodded and left the bottle of white wine on the table as he took the other wines away.

"I'll await your guest in the front," the original waiter said as he left. As the waiter who had taken the wines away returned to open the bottle, Tommy sighed as he shifted slightly uncomfortably.

_Oh man... _Tommy thought simply as he sat there whilst the waiter opened the bottle and left the two wine glasses that he had brought with him from the kitchen upon the table.

_Corinth City, Posh Restaurant, mid-morning, a few minutes later_

As Kimberly entered the posh restaurant, she too was startled by just how posh it was. Then, she quickly noticed that Tommy appeared to be nowhere in sight. However, before she could start to worry, the waiter quickly reassured her.

"Ma'am, he's waiting in the back for you," the waiter said. "You are Mr Oliver's plus one aren't you?"

She nodded. "Yes, I am," she replied simply.

"Come this way," the waiter said as she gestured for her to follow him into the VIP area of the restaurant. As soon as she entered the VIP area, Tommy looked up from where he nervously awaited her at their table and turned extremely pale for a few moments because of how beautiful she looked as he watched her come over.

"Oh, Beautiful..." he began quietly as she was settled into the chair in front of him by the waiter who Tommy gestured to so that he would leave them in peace for now.

Due to the fact that she hadn't been paying full attention to him, Kimberly wasn't sure whether she had heard calling her by his old nickname for her or not so she instantly asked him to repeat what he had said.

"I just said that you look so beautiful in that dress, Kimberly," Tommy lied to cover up his mistake as the waiter left.

She nodded instantly as he sighed inwardly in relief.

_Phew... that was a close one. I'm going to have to make sure that I don't make a slip like that today __again. _He thought before he smiled.

"This is the posher than any restaurant that I've ever been in," he admitted. "When I get a chance, I'm going to ask Colonel Truman just how he managed to get us into the place."

Kimberly smiled back. "This is posher than any restaurant that I've ever been in as well," she admitted.

"Do you want some wine?" he asked politely. "Don't worry, it's a white vintage. I remembered that you hate red wine."

She nodded and he poured them both a glass.

"I can remember that you used to hate white wine, Tommy," she countered as he passed her a glass. "So why are you taking a glass?"

He smiled as he took up his own glass and took a small sip.

"Over the last two years, I've developed a liking for white wine," he replied simply.

"How?" she asked curiously as she leaned forward onto the table as she took a sip from her glass.

"Well..." he said as his smile deepened and he began to tell her the story of how he developed a taste for white wine.

_Corinth City, Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour and its surrounding area, mid-morning, at that very moment_

"Ah, Summer, we've been waiting for you," RJ said whilst making exaggerated gestures as she entered the pizza parlour. "Welcome to Jungle Karma Pizza, my friend."

Summer looked around. She was surprised by just how inviting the place seemed. Unlike the other RPM Power Rangers, she had never been in this place before although she had heard quite a great deal about it from time to time. The walls, like everything else in the restaurant, were bright and colourful whilst the plants sitting near to the tables were lush and smelt exotic. It took Summer a few moments to realise that the pizza parlour reminded her of a jungle and, when she did, she instantly wondered why RJ had designed it so.

RJ knew instantly what she was thinking about as soon he looked into her eyes so he gestured to Dominic to tell them about Pai Zhua and the Spirit Jungle as he went upstairs to fetch his uniform.

"Let me tell you something about Pai Zhua. The Order of the Claw derives its power from the animal spirit within. There's this jungle, neither in this dimension nor outside of it, where we're closest to our spirits and the Spirit Masters called the Spirit Jungle," Dominic said quietly. "RJ has designed this place exactly like the original Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour to remind himself of the jungle so that he can never forget his origins."

"But why..." Scott began as RJ returned in his chef's uniform.

"Because, my friend, I would be denying this," RJ replied simply as he rolled up his sleeve to reveal the black lightning bolt like mark of a Pai Zhua Master. "And I would be forgetting about everyone who I was forced to leave behind due to the Venjix invasion, like Dominic for example, so that I could survive."

He paused for a moment.

"I can't ever do that," he said quietly as he rolled his sleeve back down.

There was a moment of tense silence before RJ suddenly smiled.

"Anyway, let's forget all about that," he said quite firmly to change the subject. "We're here to enjoy ourselves today."

He walked over to Dillon and Summer and dragged both of them to a table in one corner. "You two can sit here," he said as he forced them to sit down. Then, he turned to Trent and Kira and dragged them to a table in the other corner. "And you two can sit here," he continued as he forced them to sit down before he turned his attention to everyone who remained. "Whilst everyone else can come with me," he finished.

He headed up to the loft, with Dominic and his "assistants" following close behind, where he had laid out several sets of the uniform on a table.

"It's just like home," Dominic said with a smile.

"I know," RJ said sadly as he handed out the uniforms to everyone. "You'll wear these whilst you're working for me today. Unfortunately, due to Corinth health and safety regulation, I can't let you wear anything else in case it accidentally gets caught in anything. I'll leave you all to get changed."

RJ went back downstairs to his kitchen at that moment and checked that he had enough supplies. In anticipation of returning to work, He had bought in all the necessary food supplies for his pizzas yesterday and, at the same time, he had also cleaned his restaurant out. However, there was one job that he hadn't tackled which he was going to leave for his cleaners as it was just too disgusting for him to do.

As everyone came down dressed in their uniforms, RJ appraised them. They looked good.

"Right, here's how it's going to work," RJ said simply. "I'm in charge and, as far as you are concerned, anything I say today is law."

"But..." Scott began.

"No buts. This is my restaurant and, if you want Summer and Dillon to get their pizza, you had better follow my orders," RJ said as he overruled Scott. Then, he added as an afterthought, "And Dominic's orders as well."

Everyone nodded in reply to this as he continued, "Scott, Tenaya and Gem, you've got the wonderful job as my cleaning crew. You'll find all of the equipment in the cupboard under the stairs."

The three of them nodded and were about to go fetch the equipment before RJ added in, "Scott, you're on gum duty today as well."

Dominic sniggered as Scott looked at RJ with a confused expression upon his face.

"Gum duty?" he asked with a puzzled expression upon his face. "What do I..."

Dominic turned and fetched the scraper from the cupboard. "You're responsible for removing the chewing gum from under the tables. That's what," RJ explained as Dominic put the scraper into Scott's hands. "It's a disgusting job but, to be honest, someone other than me has to do it."

Scott was about to protest but decided against it as he, Tenaya 15 and Gem collected their tools and went through to start the cleaning work.

"We're the kitchen crew then, my friend?" Dominic asked. RJ nodded.

"Yeah. You're going to be making the pizzas and I'm going to keep an eye on you whilst I also deal with the customers at the till," he replied as he made his way through to the front. However, he stopped in the doorway. "Oh, and Dom?"

"Yeah?" Dominic asked.

"Make sure that Fran stays reasonably out of sight. I don't want to be closed down for having a pet mouse in the kitchen," RJ ordered before he went through to the front.

As Dominic, Flynn and Gemma began to make pizzas in the back, RJ made his way through to the front and changed the closed sign to an open one. Nearby, both sets of couples were awkwardly sitting in silence as the cleaning crew cleaned away. Scott was under one of the tables and, for a few moments, RJ watched him as he laboured away scraping gum off from under it.

However, RJ was then distracted by curse from Dominic in the kitchen which suggested that there was something wrong.

_It looks like my talents as a master chef are needed... _RJ thought as he sighed and headed through to the kitchen to find out about what the problem was.

_Corinth City, Corinth Lakeside, mid-morning, also at that very moment_

"So, where are Kimberly and Tommy going?" Trini asked as everyone found a spot to sit near the lake.

Jason, with a big grin on his face, laughed. "You can't guess?" he asked.

"No," she replied with a puzzled expression on her face.

"They're away on a date together at a posh restaurant in town," Jason explained.

Billy, who sat nearby with Cestria, was surprised by this.

"Well, well, well..." he murmured. "I still don't understand why they ever broke up in the first place but it's good to know that they seem to be getting back together again."

"Hey, Jason..." Zack began to get Jason's attention as he crawled over to him. Then, he whispered something into his ear.

Jason grinned. "You know, that's a perfectly good idea," he said with a perfectly straight face.

There was a moment of silence before Zack blurted out as he pointed. "Look over there! It's another of Zedd's monsters!"

Everyone instantly looked to where Zack had pointed and, whilst they were distracted, Jason and Zack grabbed Trini, Cestria and Billy.

"What... Oh no! Let me go, guys!" Billy exclaimed as he struggled to get free of Jason's strong grip as he was carried over Jason's shoulder towards the water. "Cestria!"

"I can't! I would hurt you if I did!" Cestria exclaimed as she too was struggling to get free as they grew ever closer to the water.

"Don't you dare, Zack! I'm..." Trini began to protest as she struggled to get free of Zack's grip. However, neither of the three of them could break free before Zack and Jason dumped them into the lake.

On the bank, Hayley and Anton watched as they laughed helplessly.

"Who knew that they could be so childish?" Hayley said.

Anton shrugged. "They really know how to enjoy life. Being a Power Ranger has taught them to live life like the next day is your last because they're life is so dangerous," he replied simply as he sighed. "Now, I can really understand how Tommy feels at times."

"I suppose," Hayley agreed just as she realised that Zack and Jason were no longer in the water. "Hey, where did..."

"Got you!" Zack and Jason exclaimed triumphantly as they snatched up both Anton and Hayley in their strong grips.

"No, you can't..." Hayley exclaimed as she tried desperately to struggle free. However, she couldn't get free before she and Anton were dumped in the lake with everyone else.

Jason and Zack couldn't help but continue to laugh. On the other hand, though, everyone else wasn't so amused.

"Get them!" Trini exclaimed. Everyone instantly converged upon Zack and Jason for revenge and, within minutes, water was being splashed about at everyone randomly as laughter filled the air.

_Corinth City, In The Streets Of Corinth, mid-morning, also at that very moment_

"It's such a beautiful morning, isn't it, K.?" Ziggy said with a smile as they both wandered through the streets of Corinth.

Dr K. didn't reply to this and Ziggy sighed.

_Getting her to even smile is going to require a lot of hard work. _He thought.

At that moment, Ziggy had an idea of how he might get her to smile.

"So, Ziggy, where exactly are we going anyway?" Dr K. asked.

Ziggy smiled. "That's a secret. Come on," he said as he took her hand. Then, he began to rush through the streets of Corinth to get to the other side of town. Once there, Ziggy was sure that he would be able to find some way of making her smile.

_Corinth City, Posh Restaurant, late morning, some time later_

Tommy and Kimberly's date had become somewhat of a disaster as both of them sat quietly together in the restaurant. Neither of them had the courage to dare to say what they wanted to say to each other so things were starting to get extremely awkward.

Eventually, after an extremely long period of silence, Tommy finally broke it.

"Kimberly, why did you send that letter anyway?" he blurted out.

Kimberly instantly looked down at the table. "I wasn't ready," she admitted. "You were completely devoted to me, Tommy. You were committed to waiting for me until the day that I returned to Angel Grove without any hesitation and, to be entirely honest, I wasn't ready for that sort of commitment back then. The fact that you felt so strongly about our relationship scared me and, after a lot of soul searching, I knew that it was time for me to let you go. I wanted to broaden my horizons a little, find somebody new and continue training for the Pan Globals."

She paused for a moment. Then, she looked back up at him.

"At least we both managed to move on, though, Tommy," she continued with a sigh. "You had Katherine and I had that guy that I dated for a while. However, we didn't last very long together before we split over a row about my gymnastics."

Tommy looked down at the table.

"Kat and I didn't last for very long either," he admitted. "We realised that we weren't meant to be and went our separate ways."

He paused for a moment. "To be honest, I'm not sure if I've ever been able to get over you," he continued.

Kimberly was shaken to the core by this. There was a long moment of silence before Kimberly asked the one question that he dreaded.

"Do you still have feelings for me now, Tommy?" she asked.

Tommy took in sharp breath as he searched inwards for the answer to her question. He was extremely embarrassed to find that, even after all this time, he still had such strong feelings for her. However, since he wasn't sure whether she still felt anything or not, he decided to lie.

"I'm not sure," he lied as he looked back up. "You?"

Kimberly took a moment to search inwards for the answer to his question. When she found it, she was quite surprised. However, since she wasn't sure whether he still felt anything or not, even though it seemed like he still did, she decided to lie as well.

"I'm not sure either," she lied.

There was a long moment of awkward silence before the waiter broke it this time.

"Do you both want to place your order now?" the waiter asked.

Tommy looked to Kimberly, who nodded in reply as she sipped a little more wine, before he smiled.

"Yes, we would. Do you happen to have any menus here?" he replied.

The waiter nodded. "I'll get them right away, sir," he replied before he left to fetch the menus.

"Hmm... I wonder if they'll have anything that we can actually eat here," Tommy murmured. Kimberly laughed helplessly.

"I'm sure that they will," she replied as the waiter brought them through the menus. Both Kimberly and Tommy scanned them for a moment before they looked up at each other. Most of the menu was in Italian, a language that neither of them could speak too well, because this restaurant was so posh so it took them a few moments to make their choice.

"Spaghetti bolognese?" Kimberly suggested. Tommy nodded.

"That sounds fine to me," he replied simply.

"Two spaghetti bologneses coming right up," the waiter said as he took the menus away before he headed into the kitchen.

"Can I ask something, Tommy?" Kimberly said after another minute of silence.

He nodded. "Yeah, anything," he replied.

"I never thought that you would end up as a high school science teacher or a palaeontologist. Just how on earth did that happen?" Kimberly asked.

Tommy laughed helplessly. "Well..." he began as he began to tell her how he had ended up as a high school science teacher.

_Corinth City, Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour and its surrounding area, late morning, at that very moment_

"That's this table clear of gum," Scott grimaced as he came out from under the table with a massive ball of gum in one hand. Tenaya 15 took it from him and left to dispose of it as Gem grinned at him.

Scott grimaced in reply to Gem as he got under another table and started scraping off the gum from the underside.

"You can't deny that all this hard work isn't worth it, Scott. Look," Gem countered as he pointed to where Dillon and Summer sat nearby. Scott sighed.

"I know," he replied simply.

Over at their table, Dillon and Summer just sighed.

"Why on earth did they choose us?" Summer asked. "They could have quite as easily chosen Flynn and Gemma."

Dillon nodded. "They would have benefited more from this date than us," he agreed.

They sighed. Then, they fell silent again as they sat there just watching each other nervously.

At the table in the other corner, Kira and Trent were laughing helplessly about their adventures as Power Rangers.

"Conner and Ethan were so hilarious at times," Trent laughed. "I miss them."

"I miss them too," Kira sighed. "I just hope that they're safe wherever they are right now."

"Me too," Trent agreed as the first customers began to stream into the restaurant.

"Welcome to Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour. How may I serve you today?" Dominic said politely as the customers came to the till.

"One of RJ's special pizzas please," the first customer replied as Dominic leaned heavily upon a basket which sat, upturned, upon the counter.

"What's that?" he asked as he pointed at the basket just as it rattled a little.

"It's just a basket," Dominic lied with a shrug as he turned and called to RJ in the kitchen, "RJ, I've got an order for one of your special pizzas!"

"I'm on it," RJ replied as he, Flynn and Gemma began to make up one of RJ's special pizzas in the kitchen.

At the counter, Dominic smiled. "Your pizza should be ready soon. If you would like to take a seat," he suggested politely. The first customer nodded and sat down at one of the tables as the second customer placed her order.

Back in the kitchen, Flynn accidentally got flour upon Gemma's cheek as he made up the dough for the pizzas.

"Hey!" Gemma exclaimed in protest as she huffed. Flynn looked up.

"Oops, sorry," Flynn apologised instantly as he fetched a cloth. "Let me get that for you."

Then, before Gemma could protest further, he wiped away the floor from her cheek.

"Thanks," she smiled at Flynn as she finished chopping up all of the vegetables.

RJ, who had watched the whole affair silently, decided to intervene. He had been reminded by their antics of a similar situation which had occurred between Theo and Lily and it had hurt him to think about his close friends. To protect himself from the grief which was beginning to build up, he knew that he had to put a stop to their antics quickly before his guilt consumed him.

"Stop clowning around," he snapped angrily at them because they had reminded him of his lost friends as he fetched the pizzas for the two dating couples whilst he simultaneously put his special pizza into the oven.

"Yes, RJ," they both replied submissively as he left to deliver the pizzas.

"Man, what got into him?" Flynn whispered as he and Gemma got back to their work.

She shrugged. "Painful memories, perhaps?" she suggested.

"Yeah, they were," RJ sighed in reply as he returned to the kitchen which startled them both.

"RJ, we're here if you want to talk about it," Gemma said gently.

"Thanks," he replied with a sad smile. Then, he paused for a moment before he began to tell them about his friends as he had decided that it was best that he talked about the memories so that he would be able to enjoy the rest of the day. "You see..."

_Corinth City, Corinth Lakeside, late morning, also at that very moment_

"That's it!" Cestria exclaimed after Jason and Zack had stolen Billy's glasses from him as another of their mischievous pranks. "I've had enough!"

Zack and Jason, from where they stood waist deep in the water with Billy's sunglasses, smiled.

"We're only having a little fun," Zack protested.

"It was funny to begin with but taking Billy's glasses was the last straw. If you don't hand them back, I'll..." she began.

"Ooh..., I'm so scared," Zack mocked as he laughed at her threat. Jason, however, had completely the opposite reaction. He instantly rushed back to shore to return Billy's glasses as Cestria grew more enraged at Zack.

"Cestria, don't you..." Billy began. However, it was too late. In a matter of minutes, the water around Zack instantly froze over and he quickly found that he was trapped in a massive ice block.

Cestria looked at him in satisfaction as she glared at Jason who instantly turned paler.

"I won't cause any more mischief, I promise," he promised.

"Good," Cestria replied simply as he instantly sat behind Trini for protection from her.

"Hey, Cestria, any chance of releasing me now?" Zack called. "I've learned my lesson, I promise!"

There was a long moment of silence as everyone looked at each other for a long moment before they got up and began to head further along the lakeside so that they wouldn't be able to hear Zack's pleas as they laughed helplessly.

"Cestria? Guys! Hey, Guys!" Zack called from where he was trapped in the ice. "This isn't funny!"

"I'm afraid it is, Zack!" Cestria called in reply with a grin upon her face from where everyone else had moved to.

As they began relaxing and chatting amongst themselves whilst ignoring him, Zack groaned as he began to start to feel the cold.

_I'm never going to pull a prank on Cestria or Billy ever again. _He vowed silently to himself as he closed his eyes and started to shiver a little.

"Cestria, you should release him, you know," Billy whispered to his wife as they glanced over at Zack.

"Don't worry, I will," she promised. "However, I'm going to leave him to cool off over there for a while so that he truly learns his lesson first."

"You're devious, Cestria," he laughed helplessly.

"I know," she replied with a devious smile. "That's why you married me, though, isn't it?"

Billy continued laughing helplessly at this and everyone soon joined in.

_Corinth City, Corinth Park, late morning, also at that very moment_

"Why have we come here?" Dr K. asked as she and Ziggy entered the park. They were both slightly out of breath due to fact that they had ran all the way here so they took a few moments to recover.

Then, after these few moments, Ziggy smiled.

"That's a secret," he replied as he settled her into a bench. "Wait here."

Next, he slipped away to the ice cream stand nearby, bought two ice cream cones which he charged to the Corinth Defence Force and quickly rushed back.

"We came here for ice-cream?" Dr K. said with an angry expression upon her face as he returned with the ice-cream. "We could have just as easily gotten some out of one of the shops at the other side of town? Why did we have to run all the way here just for a simple ice-cream?"

"We didn't just come here for the ice-cream, K.," Ziggy replied as he handed her one of the ice-cream cones. "We came here for the scenery as well, K.. Isn't it just beautiful?"

Dr K. didn't reply to this as she began to lick her ice-cream cone and, after a few moments of watching her, Ziggy could only sigh.

_Correction. Getting her to even smile is going to require a massive amount of work. _Ziggy thought silently to himself as he started to lick his ice-cream. _Regardless, I'm going to find a way to make her smile, though. Or I'm not Ziggy Grover._ He vowed silently to himself.

_Corinth City, Posh Restaurant, early afternoon, some time later_

"At last," Tommy said quietly to Kimberly as the waiter brought through their lunch. They were both now quite hungry and, as soon as it was placed in front of them, they didn't waste any time getting tucked into the food.

After they had eaten a small amount to satisfy their hunger, warm smiles appeared on their faces.

"Do you know what, I'm glad that you're here with me today, Kimberly," he admitted. "I'm sure it wouldn't have been so enjoyable if I had brought anyone else."

"I'm glad that you're here with me today too, Tommy," she replied. "If I wasn't here, I would probably be the victim of Jason and Zack's pranks right now."

Tommy chuckled at this. "I know. I wonder how everyone else is getting on today," he said.

"Me too," Kimberly replied with a sigh. "Me too."

And, without saying anything else, they both continued to eat in silence as they wondered about how everyone else was getting on that day.

_Corinth City, Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour, early afternoon, at that very moment_

"Trent, do you want to go for a little walk together?" Kira suggested as they finished their pizza. All the tables around them were filled with chattering customers who were beginning to give them both a headache. "It's getting a bit crowded in here."

"Yeah, I'll talk to RJ to let him know that we're leaving then we can go," Trent replied as he left the table and headed towards the kitchen.

"Trent, what is it?" RJ asked as soon as Trent poked his head around the door.

"Kira and I are going to go for a little walk, RJ," Trent replied. "It's getting a little too crowded out there for us now."

"Sure. Did you enjoy your pizza?" he replied.

Trent smiled, "Yeah, RJ. Thanks, by the way, for this."

"It was no problem, Trent," RJ grinned. "Now, you take Kira and go enjoy yourself."

Trent nodded and returned to Kira. Then, they got up and left the restaurant as the cleaning crew converged upon their table to clean it and to get rid of gum from underneath it.

In the other corner, Dillon and Summer sat eating their pizza in silence. After a few minutes, though, Summer couldn't take the uncomfortable silence any longer.

"Dillon, can I ask you something?" Summer said nervously. Dillon looked up at her as he finished another slice of pizza.

"Sure, ask me anything that you want to," he replied with a shrug. "I'll try to answer you as honestly as possible."

_Well, here goes..._ Summer thought as she paused for a moment.

"Do you like me?" she asked.

"Of course, I do. You wouldn't be my friend if I didn't like you," Dillon replied.

"No, I meant do you _like_ me?" she continued.

Dillon paused for a moment as a lump formed in his throat. She had asked the dreaded question.

"Well?" Summer said after a few moments. Dillon looked down for another moment.

"I...Um..." he began. It was clear that he was struggling for words and, as a blush crept up his cheeks, it became clear that he was also quite embarrassed.

"Dillon, it's a simple question, you know. Do you or do you not _like_ me?" Summer said gently as she stared into his eyes.

"I..." Dillon began as he struggled again to say what he wanted to.

"I can't bear it any more!" Summer exclaimed in frustration. "Dillon!"

"I honestly don't know," he managed to lie finally after deciding that he was just too cowardly to admit the truth especially with Scott, Gem and Tenaya 15 nearby.

She looked at him with a funny expression for a few moments before a devious smile appeared on her face.

"Ok, since you don't know, will you allow to ask one more thing?" she asked after another moment.

Dillon thought for a long moment. _If I let her ask, she could ask me absolutely anything. Should I just say no... Or should I say yes..._

"Well?" Summer asked.

He sighed as he gave in. "Fine."

She shimmied her chair around until she was sitting right beside him. Her closeness disturbed him but he could tell that she was extremely nervous as her heartbeat was wild and erratic. He could also tell that she was quite embarrassed since she was blushing heavily.

"Dillon..." she began. He turned to face her and he realised that she was just too close. Instinctively, he wanted to shy away but, before he could, Summer pulled him closer.

"Summer..." he began warningly but, before he could say anything else, she kissed him. As soon as Summer's lips touched his, Dillon froze up in shock and just couldn't resist her.

As they kissed, Summer's lips quickly curled up into a smile. By his reaction, she knew that he had been lying to her when he said that he didn't know whether he liked her because it was quite obvious now that he did. Eventually, they broke apart.

"Summer, what was that meant to prove?" he demanded. "I..."

However, before he could finish his sentence, Summer put a finger to his lips to silence him.

"You've still got to answer my question, Dillon," she warned. "Tell me, honestly this time, how _that_ felt?"

"Quite good, actually," he admitted before he could stop himself.

Summer's blush intensified for a moment as he leaned in closer again.

"Ok, now that we've gotten that out of the way, it's my turn," Dillon said quietly. "Tell me, how did it take you so long?"

She blinked before she started laughing. "I never found a chance before now," she admitted.

"I was just too cowardly," he admitted quietly. "And I lied. I do _like _you a lot actually."

"I gathered as much," she replied as he got a little closer again.

This time, though, the closeness didn't disturb either of them as he leaned in for yet another kiss.

As they kissed, Scott, Gem and Tenaya 15 watched with grins upon their faces.

"I knew it," Scott said as he chuckled.

"My brother has been dancing around her for a long time. At least, now, it's finally out in the open," Tenaya 15 smiled.

"I'll go tell the others," Gem said as he rushed away into the kitchen. Within moments, laughing broke out in the kitchen and, upon hearing it, Dillon broke away guiltily.

"Don't mind them," Summer said quite firmly. "We'll get them back later."

And, with that, Summer kissed Dillon whilst they both blissfully ignored all of the RPM Power Rangers who were watching them.

_Corinth City, Corinth Lakeside, early afternoon, also at that very moment_

"I think that it's time for you to release Zack now, dear," Billy said grimly as everyone gathered to eat their lunch. Courtesy of Cestria, they had a massive picnic basket full of food and Billy felt that it wouldn't be fair to let Zack miss out on it.

Cestria sighed, "I suppose that you're right. I think that he'll have learned his lesson by now."

At that moment, the icy prison around Zack shattered. As soon as he was free, he managed to swim to the bank.

"How... could... you... leave... me... so... long...?" Zack stuttered as he shivered uncontrollably whilst he walked over to where everyone had gathered for lunch.

"Cestria, dear, I think he might be developing hypothermia," Billy warned. "You left him too long."

"I'll correct that," she promised as she concentrated. Seconds later, Zack stopped shivering uncontrollably as Cestria used her abilities to warm him up.

"Thank you," he said through gritted teeth. Everyone could tell that he was quite angry by his expression.

"Oh, Zack, lighten up, you've learned your lesson," Cestria said as she laughed helplessly at his expression. "Now, are you going to have lunch with us or not?"

Zack paused for a moment. Then, he sighed.

"Fine," he said as he gave in and came over to have lunch with him. Secretly, though, he was plotting revenge.

_I'll find a way to get back at you, Cestria. One that doesn't involve one of my usual pranks. _He vowed silently to himself.

_Corinth City, Corinth Park, early afternoon, also at that very moment_

As Ziggy got up to make a final attempt at getting Dr K. to smile, by telling her a funny story, his foot got caught and he tripped. What little remained of his ice-cream went flying into a nearby bin as he hit the ground and, after a few moments, a new sound filled the air.

Dr K. burst out into a peal of laughter and Ziggy couldn't quite believe it. As he looked, he saw a big smile upon her face and he realised then that he had done it. He had made Dr K. smile and laugh at the same time.

_Yes!_ He thought triumphantly. _I did it!_

He smiled as he got back to his feet.

"Do you know, K., that your smile really makes you look beautiful," Ziggy commented. Dr K. blushed and Ziggy's smile deepened.

"Now, where was I..." he began as he decided to change the subject. "Oh yeah, I was about to tell you about the time when I..."

_Corinth City, Corinth City Museum, mid-afternoon, some time later_

Zedd growled as Squatt and Baboo looked to him for orders as the thieves had escaped.

"You useless imbeciles!" Zedd exclaimed as he fired lightning at Squatt and Baboo who yelped in fright and barely managed to avoid his attack.

"Sorry, Lord Zedd. They were just too fast!" Squatt apologised.

"That's still no excuse!" Zedd thundered. "Must I do everything myself?"

At that moment, he spotted a painting of a powerful icy queen and, after considering it for a moment, he had a brilliant idea. He zapped the painting with his Z-Staff and, after a few moments, an icy femme-fatale appeared.

"Master, I am Icia," she said as she fell down on one knee. "How may I serve you?"

"You may serve me by capturing Corinth," Zedd replied. "And by distracting the Rangers whilst I recapture my treasure from the thieves."

"What about us?" Squatt and Baboo asked as Icia left to do Zedd's bidding.

"Stay here and cause some havoc," Zedd replied with a shrug as he vanished in a flash of green light.

_Corinth City, Posh Restaurant, mid-afternoon, at that very moment_

"That was wonderful," Kimberly commented after she and Tommy had finished their lunch. Tommy smiled.

"Yeah, it was wasn't it?" he agreed as he just noticed that she had a little sauce on her cheek.

"What?" she demanded as she realised that he was looking at her strangely whilst he fetched his napkin.

"You've got a little bit sauce on your face," he admitted as he got up and went over to her. "Here, let me get it."

She blushed in embarrassment as he used the napkin to get the sauce off of her face.

"Thanks," she smiled as he shrugged.

"It's not a problem," he replied as he smiled.

"Tommy..." she began just as he was about to go back to his side of the table.

"Yeah?" he began as she leaned in closer to him.

However, before anything else could happen, the whole building shook wildly. Tommy quickly pulled Kimberly away from the table so that she wasn't injured by their plates which quickly clattered to the floor and smashed.

"That's not good," Tommy said grimly as the tremors continued.

_Just when our date got interesting as well. _He added silently to himself. _It's a disaster._

"Monster attack?" Kimberly suggested. He nodded.

"Almost certainly. Come on, we had better go investigate," he replied as he took her hand as the tremors stopped. Then, they fled from the VIP area of the restaurant.

"Sir, wait!" the waiter called. "What about the second course?"

"Thanks but no thanks," Tommy replied as he and Kimberly reached the door. "Kimberly and I really have to go now. Duty calls."

Then, without another word, both of them plunged out of the door as they headed to investigate what had caused the tremors.

_Corinth City, Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour and its surrounding area, mid-afternoon, also at that very moment_

As the tremors shook the pizza parlour, RJ called for everyone to hold on tightly to something. It took a few moments for the tremors to subside and, when they did, the damage appeared to be quite significant. However, RJ wasn't at all interested in the damage at that moment.

He was more interested in the RPM Power Rangers who had instantly gathered in the kitchen for instructions.

"Well?" Scott asked.

"Dominic and I, along with Tenaya 15, of course, will stay here to clear up the mess. Whatever caused those tremors is bound to be nasty so I'm sending all of you to investigate," RJ replied. "Now, go! Quickly now!"

"Yes, RJ," they replied as they left.

Dominic sighed, "There's a lot of damage, RJ."

"I know," RJ replied grimly. "However, at least everyone is all right. Come on, we had best tend to the customers."

Dominic nodded and, together, they left the kitchen to deal with the customers.

_Corinth City, Corinth Lakeside, mid-afternoon, also at that very moment_

"What the..." Jason began as the ground shook violently just after they had finished their lunch. As soon as the tremors were over, they could see that a massive female monster was about to terrorise the city of Corinth.

"I think that it's time to call it day," Trini said grimly as everyone got to their feet. "Billy, call Alpha. Have him teleport Cestria, Anton and Hayley back to Brachiozord and meet us in town."

Billy nodded as Jason, Zack and Trini left to confront the monster. Then, without another word, Billy activated his communicator and called Alpha so that Cestria, Anton and Hayley could be teleported away to safety.

After a quick discussion, they vanished in a massive flash of grey light before Billy activated his teleport controls so that he could meet up with the other Rangers in town.

Seconds later, he vanished in a flash of blue light.

_Corinth City, Corinth Park, mid-afternoon, also at that very moment_

As the tremors started, Ziggy and Dr K. had to cling to the bench that they were sitting on.

"It looks like you've got to go now, Ziggy," she said grimly. He sighed.

"Yeah, duty calls," he agreed sadly. "First, though, I'm sending you back to the Brachiozord."

He activated his communicator at that moment and asked Alpha to teleport Dr K. back to the Brachiozord.

"I'll tell you all about the rest of the story later," he promised.

"I know," Dr K. replied with a sad smile as she vanished in a flash of grey light. Then, with a sigh, Ziggy headed to find his fellow RPM Power Rangers so that he could find out about what was going on.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-afternoon, a few minutes later_

As soon as Alpha 5 had teleported the non-Rangers back to the Brachiozord, Zordon had hastily gotten rid of them so that he could get some privacy whilst he performed an important task.

"Are you sure that you want to do this, now, Zordon?" Alpha asked as he fetched the silver case.

"Yes," Zordon replied simply. "I do."

Alpha sighed and opened the silver case. Contained within it, were the remaining two Dino Gems which Zordon was just about to restore to full power.

"Hold out the case, Alpha 5," he commanded. The robot instantly complied and Zordon closed his eyes.

Then, after a few moments, he held out his hands over the Blue and Red Dino Gems. Seconds later, they began to glow.

Alpha watched and waited until they became the Red and Blue Dino Morphers before he pulled away with the case in hand as Zordon sunk into the main Command Chair in exhaustion.

"Zordon, are you all right?" Alpha asked with concern as he snapped the case shut. "Maybe you shouldn't have..."

"I'm all right," Zordon reassured with a weary smile. "Go find the Shield of Triumph and put it in that case with those gems. We don't want Tommy to use it again."

"Yes, Zordon," Alpha replied automatically as he left. As soon as Alpha was gone, Zordon sighed.

"Maybe I shouldn't have done that," he mused to himself as he sat there.

_Corinth City, In The Streets Of Corinth, mid-afternoon, another few minutes later_

As Kira and Trent headed back to the Brachiozord Command Centre from their date at the Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour, they were surprised to run into Bulk and Skull.

"Why are you running?" Kira asked as Bulk and Skull turned a corner and ran into them. However, both Bulk and Skull were just too out of breath to reply. Seconds later, though, Zedd appeared around the corner and Kira and Trent instantly summoned their morphers.

"We'll deal with him," Trent assured. "Use your communicators and get out of here!"

Up until that moment, Bulk and Skull had completely forgotten all about the communicators around their wrists. As Kira and Trent got ready to morph, Bulk and Skull activated the teleportation device and vanished with the box before Zedd could stop them.

As soon as both Bulk and Skull were gone, Kira and Trent looked to each other and nodded. Then, their morphers appeared on their wrists.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size for a change, Zedd," Kira taunted. "Ready?"

Trent nodded. "Ready," he replied as he activated his morpher. "White Ranger, Dino Power!"

"Dino Thunder, power up! Ha!" Kira called as she activated her morpher. Then, they morphed.

"You fools think that you can face me?" Zedd exclaimed incredulously. "Very well, let's see what you are made of."

"With pleasure," Trent replied as they summoned their weapons from their belts. Then, they charged into battle against Lord Zedd.


	31. Chapter 21: Colder Fates

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 21: Colder Fates

_Corinth City, In The Streets Of Corinth, mid-afternoon, several minutes later_

"Tommy, we've got a problem!" Kimberly exclaimed grimly as she pointed upwards as they ran through the streets of Corinth together. "Look!"

He looked up at the monster which was now towering over Corinth and groaned. "That doesn't look good at all," he murmured.

"Hey, Tommy, man!" Jason called as he, and the other Original Rangers who had been at the lakeside with him, appeared around the nearby corner.

"Guys, nice timing," Tommy smiled as they rushed over to him and Kimberly. "We're going to have to come up with a plan to get rid of her quickly before she causes too much damage."

"Or we could always form the Megazord and just go take her on right now," Jason suggested impatiently.

"Not without us, you're not," Scott said as he and the other RPM Power Rangers appeared around another nearby corner and rushed over to the group.

"So, what's the plan?" Flynn asked.

"The plan is that we're going to talk to Zordon before we get into a battle with her," Tommy said finally after a long moment of staring at the monster as she wreaked havoc in Corinth. A growing feeling that the monster was tougher than she appeared was beginning to overcome him so he knew that battling her was going to be quite difficult. Besides, he didn't want to rush in blind and get beaten easily as this would give the remaining Anti-Ranger protesters an excuse to try to turn people against the Power Rangers again and he certainly didn't want that.

"I'll contact him," Billy offered as he activated his communicator. Seconds later, the communication link failed.

"What?" Billy began. "But that's..."

"Alpha is probably not in the main Command Centre. Try again, Billy," Tommy replied grimly.

Billy nodded. Then, he tried yet again to activate a communication link with the Brachiozord Command Centre. As they waited, all of the Power Rangers there hoped that, this time, it wouldn't fail again.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-afternoon, several minutes earlier_

As soon as Bulk and Skull reappeared in the middle of the Command Centre, they hurried back to their rooms. When they had arrived, Bulk had made an attempt to hide the golden box from sight but he couldn't fool Zordon who had spotted the box before they had vanished down the corridor. He had instantly recognised the box for what it was and he couldn't believe how fortunate the universe had been that Bulk and Skull had managed to prevent the box from falling into Zedd's hands by taking it themselves.

Now all that Zordon had to do was formulate a plan to borrow it from the pair of them whilst they were asleep. It was one part of a dangerous split power which Zordon knew only one person in the world would ever be able to wield and he couldn't risk it falling into the wrong hands.

He just hoped, though, that the box still contained its original contents otherwise there was going to be a bit of a problem.

As a communication link between Kira and the Brachiozord formed, Zordon turned his mind away from plotting how to get the golden box from Bulk and Skull. Right now, it seemed like they had bigger problems to contend with. He got up from the main Command Chair and went over to the controls. Then, he activated the communication link.

Zordon could instantly tell that they were in trouble. He could hear the sound of a massive explosion and a startled cry from Trent as he struggled to avoid it.

"Kira, what is happening down there?" Zordon demanded.

"We're in serious trouble, Zordon," Kira replied. "We're in the midst of a battle against Lord Zedd right now and we could really do with some help."

Zordon grimaced. _Not good. _He thought.

"That's not good, Zordon," Alpha said grimly as he returned to the main Command Centre. Zordon turned to his loyal robot and nodded in agreement.

"I will get Tommy to send help to you both," Zordon promised. "You are going to have to hold on until help arrives, though."

At that moment, he deactivated the communication link as another communication link between Billy and the Brachiozord formed.

"It is Billy, Alpha," Zordon noted. "Could you deal with this from here?"

Alpha nodded. "Right away, Zordon," he promised as he activated the communication link as Zordon returned to the main Command Chair. "Patching him through now..."

_Corinth City, In The Streets Of Corinth, mid-afternoon, current time, at that very moment_

"Zordon, we've got a problem," Billy said as soon as the communication link activated. "There's a thirty foot monster attacking Corinth City. Tommy seems to think that it's more dangerous than it looks as well."

"That is not your only problem," Zordon grimaced in reply.

"Ai, Ai, Ai, Kira and Trent are facing Lord Zedd right now! They're in desperate need of some help," Alpha explained.

Tommy turned pale. "I'm so going to kill them both. They should've known better than to go up against Zedd," he cursed as his Brachio Morpher appeared upon his wrist. "I'll go help Trent and Kira whilst the rest of you deal with that monster."

"Wait, Tommy, I'm coming with you," Kimberly said as he turned to leave. "There's no way that you're going up against Zedd again all by yourself."

He nodded. "We had best morph so that we can just jump straight into the battle when we get there," he warned. "It's going to be dangerous."

"I know," she replied as her Pterodactyl Power Coin appeared in her hands out of thin air.

"How did you do that?" Ziggy exclaimed. Kimberly blinked.

"I don't know. That's weird," she replied honestly. Then, she shrugged. "Oh well, we can figure it out later, I suppose."

"It was probably some fluke," Tommy added as he turned very pale because his teeth were aching pretty badly. Due to that fact, Tommy knew that he must have caused her morpher to appear by spontaneously using his flourishing powers. He also knew that Zordon wasn't going to be happy when he heard about this later. "Ready?"

She nodded as she activated her Power Coin. "Pterodactyl!" she called. Seconds later, she had morphed into the Pink Ranger. She nodded to him.

"It's your turn now, Tommy," she replied. He nodded as he activated his Brachio Morpher.

"Dino Thunder, power up! Ha!" he called. Seconds later, after causing everyone to scatter away from him as he nearly back-flipped into them during his morphing sequence, he had morphed.

"Let's go, Kimberly," Tommy replied as he took her hand. Then, they left without another word.

"Ok, Zordon, back to this monster. Just who is she?" Billy asked.

"I do not know since she is not part of the database. All I do know is that she is trouble," Zordon replied honestly. "Sensors indicate that she was created by Lord Zedd's Z-Staff so you are going to have to be really careful when you face her. She is going to be quite powerful."

Jason grimaced. "Right, everybody morph. RPM Power Rangers, you form your Ultrazord. We're going to try to form our Megazord," he commanded.

Power Coins were instantly fetched from various pockets whilst engine cells were entered into the RPM Morphers.

"Ready?" Jason asked as he held his Power Coin activated and at the ready.

"Ready," was the unanimous reply as the other Rangers activated their morphers and held them at the ready.

"RPM, Get In Gear!" The RPM Power Rangers called.

""It's Morphin' Time!" Jason called. "Tyrannosaurus!"

"Mastodon!" Zack called.

"Triceratops!" Billy added.

"Sabertoothed Tiger!" Trini finished.

Seconds later, they morphed. Then, they called their Zords.

It took a few minutes for their Zords to appear through the City Shields and, when they did, Jason was glad to notice that the Pterodactyl Dinozord was with the other Dinozords.

"I sent it along. You're going to need it to form the Original Megazord," Alpha informed them as the Rangers leapt into their Zords.

"Thank Alpha for me," Jason said to Billy when the other three Original Rangers appeared on his viewing screen as he activated the Megazord sequence.

Billy nodded and did so as the Original Rangers formed their Megazord. Nearby, the RPM Power Rangers had also formed their Ultrazord. Now that they were in their Megazords, they could see the monster clearly. She had white hair with a gold crown, which had white crystal roses embedded in it, upon her head. She also had small icicles suspended from her ears as earrings. Her armour was silver but it was covered by hundreds of little white snowflakes which gave it the appearance of being white. Around her back, was a cloak with a massive black and gold snowflake upon it.

"She's going to destroy the school!" Summer exclaimed as the monster began to head menacingly towards the only school in Corinth.

"We're not going to let her!" Jason replied as the Megazord dove forward and put itself between the monster and the school. Then, it summoned its sword.

"This is the Power Rangers. You're going down," Scott declared to the monster as the RPM Power Rangers put themselves behind her so that the monster couldn't escape them.

The monster laughed at this. "I am Icia! You would dare fight me?" she exclaimed incredulously before she got into a fighting stance. "Very well. Prepare to be destroyed in the name of my master, Lord Zedd!"

"You'll be the one being destroyed this day," Jason countered as they charged. Within minutes, both Megazords were locked in a heated battle with Icia and it appeared that neither side had the advantage.

Little did the Rangers realise at that moment that Icia was more powerful than even Zordon had believed her to be...

_Corinth City, In The Streets Of Corinth, mid-afternoon, another few minutes later_

"Kira, look out!" Trent exclaimed as he tried to protect her from Zedd's powerful lightning. However, he failed.

The attack struck them both so hard that they were thrown back several metres into the nearest wall. Fortunately for the pair of them, their suits protected them from the worst of the damage but they were still left in agony as they slumped to the ground. Within seconds, they were both forcibly powered down as they lay where they had fallen.

Zedd laughed manically. "As I suspected, you are weaklings," he declared. "And, now, since I won, I will destroy you both!"

"You'll have to get through us first, Zedd," Tommy growled as he and Kimberly arrived on the scene. As quickly as possible, they both put themselves between Zedd and Trent and Kira.

"Well, well, well, it's you again," Zedd growled. "Back for more after the last time?"

"Zedd, you really just don't know when to find another planet to terrorise, do you?" Tommy remarked as he drew his Brachio Staff whilst Kimberly summoned the Power Bow.

"Together?" she asked as she looked to Tommy. He nodded as they both got into fighting stances.

"What makes you think that you'll be able to do much better than those two?" Zedd demanded.

"Unlike my students, I know you, Zedd," Tommy replied. "I know how you think, fight and feel and I know all about your tricks as well."

"Besides, we've got much more experience as well," Kimberly added.

"Very well, let's see if you're made of stronger stuff than they are," Zedd said. "I'll enjoy destroying you."

"You wish, Zedd," Tommy replied as he and Kimberly attacked. Together, Kimberly and Tommy managed to quickly fall into an effective strategy, full of teamwork, whereby one of them attacked whilst the other dodged or blocked Zedd's blows. For several minutes, they appeared to have the upper hand until Zedd managed to grab Kimberly. Then, he threw her to the ground near to Trent and Kira.

"Kimberly! Are you all right?" Tommy called to her as he and Zedd began to circle. She nodded in reply.

"I'll be all right. You just concentrate upon dealing with Zedd," she reassured as she lay there.

"So, Tommy, it's just you and me now," Zedd said simply as Tommy turned his attention back to him whilst they circled each other.

"You're going down, Zedd," Tommy replied as he attacked. After a few seconds of battling back and forth, Tommy and Zedd quickly became locked in a stalemate with both of their weapons locked together in the space between them. Sparks flew as the magic from Zedd's Z-Staff tried to destroy the Brachio Staff but, strangely, the magic didn't seem to work on it.

"You're not going to beat me, Zedd," Tommy growled. Zedd cackled.

"That's what you think," Zedd replied as he suddenly had a diabolical idea.

"Don't ever forget, Tommy, that _I_ know you as well. I know your strengths, your weaknesses and how you fight," he hissed as he leapt back.

Then, before Tommy could stop him, Zedd unleashed most of his power in the form of an extremely powerful bolt of lightning at Kimberly, Trent and Kira.

"No!" Tommy exclaimed as he threw himself directly into the path of the bolt of lightning because he knew that, unlike Kimberly, Trent and Kira, he had a much better chance of surviving the attack due to what he was. If the lightning hit them, due to the fact that they weren't so powerful, he knew that it would probably kill them instantly, especially if they weren't in their Ranger forms, and Tommy just couldn't let that happen.

A minute later, just as the bolt of lightning struck him, Tommy gasped in agony as his entire body exploded into pain. Within seconds, he was forcibly powered down and he proceeded to collapse straight onto the ground.

"Tommy!" Kimberly exclaimed in horror as she saw him lying there. "No!"

She instantly scrambled back onto her feet. Then, she rushed over to him and, when she checked, she was relieved to discover that he was just unconscious. She turned back to Zedd as Kira and Trent rushed over to Tommy's side.

"You'll pay for that, Zedd," she vowed.

"You're all alone, Kimberly," Zedd taunted. "You know that you're no match for me by yourself."

"We'll see," Kimberly replied bravely. "Trent, Kira, you've got to get Tommy out of here."

"We're not leaving you!" Kira exclaimed. "Dr O. would kill us if he found out that we did."

"Don't worry. Just take him and go, Kira," she assured as she got into a fighting stance. "I'll be fine."

"But Kimberly..." Trent began.

"I said that I'll be fine," Kimberly snapped. "Just go!"

Kira and Trent nodded but, before they could take Tommy and flee, the Falconzord suddenly burst forth from a dimensional doorway.

Somehow, it knew that Zedd had harmed its master and it seemed extremely angry with him. As soon as it landed, it instantly began to fire at him in revenge and, within minutes, Zedd decided that it might be best for him to withdraw after he realised that the Falconzord wasn't going to stop firing at him until it had either destroyed him or scared him off.

Once Zedd was gone, the Falconzord turned its attention towards Kimberly. She stared at it in shock for a few moments before she smiled.

_Wow, it just saved us from Zedd single-handedly. I wish I had a Zord like that._ She thought.

"Thank you, Falconzord, for saving us," Trent said grimly to it before he turned his attention to Tommy. "Is he..."

"He's only unconscious," Kimberly replied as she took off her helmet and passed it to Kira. Then, she knelt by Tommy's side and gently lifted him into her lap. "It's a miracle, though, that he's not dead right now."

"How long do you think that it'll take Dr O. to come round?" Kira asked.

"I don't know," Kimberly admitted. "It could take him a few minutes or even a few hours. We're just going to have to wait and see."

Kira and Trent fell silent at that point just as Kimberly looked down at Tommy.

_Come on, Tommy, just wake up. _She pleaded silently to herself as she knelt there. _Please, just wake up..._

_Corinth City, late afternoon_

"Take this, Icia!" Jason exclaimed as he used the sword to deal Icia a powerful blow. However, she quickly recovered and managed to wrestle the sword from the Megazord's grasp. Then, she used it against the RPM Ultrazord.

"Now that's low," Billy said grimly as the RPM Ultrazord collapsed to the ground.

"I know," Jason replied. "She'll pay for taking our sword from us. I..."

Icia attacked the Megazord at that moment and Jason never managed to finish his sentence before the Megazord was thrown to the ground at the RPM Ultrazord's side.

"Everybody brace yourselves!" Jason warned as he grimly clung to the console as she raised the sword to strike. Billy, Zack and Trini did the same but the strike that they were waiting for didn't come. Instead, Icia just laughed evilly.

"Master Zedd will be more than pleased if I put you out of the picture completely. Goodbye, Rangers, you'll soon suffer the same fate as everyone else in Corinth," she exclaimed as she struck them with a torrent of water. Then, she shrank and fled the scene.

"Ok, what did soaking us accomplish?" Scott asked as both the Megazord and the RPM Ultrazord got back up.

"She had us right where she wanted us! Why didn't she just destroy us?" Flynn exclaimed.

"I don't like this, guys," Summer said grimly as the Original Rangers in the Megazord cockpit came up on-screen.

"Neither do I," Zack admitted as an alarm bell went off in the Megazord.

"Billy, report!" Jason demand as he swivelled around to face him.

"We've got a problem, Jason," Billy replied grimly. "Icia has significant power over the wintry elements. She's drastically altering the climate of Corinth to cause a colossal disaster and, in the process, is rendering our systems absolutely useless."

"Translation?" Dillon demanded.

"She's rapidly lowering the temperature of Corinth by causing a massive blizzard," Trini replied simply. "And, because she soaked us in water, our Zords are freezing up as the temperature drops. If the temperature drop continues, Corinth will turn into a frozen wasteland. Sensors indicate the temperature has already dropped to 4ºC and is now slowly dropping even further."

"We've got to stop her!" Scott exclaimed.

"It's no use," Billy replied grimly as another alarm went off. "The escape hatches for both our Megazord configurations have been frozen shut. We're trapped in here now."

Flynn growled. "So we're just going to have to sit and wait?" he exclaimed.

Jason nodded. "Yes. It's up to the others now. Since I've never been let down before by Tommy, I'm sure that he'll gather the others together and come up with a way of stopping Icia before it's too late," he replied grimly.

"Otherwise we'll all freeze to death," Billy murmured grimly.

"Great way to enlighten the mood Billy," Dillon murmured sarcastically.

"Don't worry," Ziggy said as a smile crept over his face. He knew that it would be best to distract everyone so that they didn't worry about their surroundings and he had just the way of doing it. "I've got just the way to cheer everyone up! I'll tell you all about how I managed to get Dr K. to smile today. We were..."

_Corinth City, Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour and its surrounding area, late afternoon, at that very moment_

"RJ, I think that you had better get out here. You've got to see this," Dominic called grimly as he stared at the massive blizzard which had just started outside like all of the customers were doing. At Dominic's shout, RJ instantly rushed out of the kitchen to see what was happening. When he saw the blizzard, he turned pale and grimaced.

"It's the work of the whatever set off the tremors earlier," RJ said quietly to him after taking a few moments to stare at the blizzard. "We're needed by our allies, Dominic."

They went through the back and went up to the loft. As they climbed the stairs, their Jungle Karma uniforms were removed to reveal the uniform of Pai Zhua underneath.

"Something must have happened to the others, RJ," Dominic remarked. "They would have stopped this blizzard if they could have."

"I know, Dom. They're going to need our help," he replied as they entered the loft. "I don't want to leave the restaurant unattended, though."

"It won't be unattended," Tenaya said as she brought Fran upstairs with her. "I'll look after it, and the customers, whilst you're gone."

RJ nodded, "Thank you, Tenaya."

"Before we rush off blind, we had better find out about what is going on, RJ," Dominic said grimly.

"I'll contact Tommy," he vowed as he activated the communicator in his Wolf Morpher and set about contacting Tommy. "Let's just hope that we can reach him, though, as the blizzard might just jam our communication signal."

_Corinth City, In The Streets Of Corinth, late afternoon, at that very moment_

"Kimberly, Dr O.'s communicator is going off!" Trent exclaimed as the familiar beeping sound filled the air. She instantly reached down to the communicator upon Tommy's wrist and, after fumbling about for a few minutes, managed to activate it.

Within seconds, they could hear RJ's worried voice over the communication link.

"Tommy? Tommy are you there?" he asked.

"Tommy's unconscious right now," Kimberly grimaced. "It's Kimberly you've reached."

"Kimberly, what's happening?" Dominic demanded as he butted in.

"It's a long story," she grimaced. "You see..."

_Corinth City, In The Streets Of Corinth, late afternoon, a few minutes later_

"... So, you see, we're in a spot of bother. Tommy's unconscious, although Trent and Kira are all right, and I can't leave him here as the temperature grows colder because of the amount of snow that's falling," Kimberly finished. "And, as for the others, I don't know what has happened to them."

"Perhaps I can tell you," Zordon said grimly as he joined the communication link. "The monster is called Icia and she was just too much for the other Rangers to handle. It is my fault, though."

He paused for a moment. "I underestimated her and her abilities. I knew that she was going to be powerful because she was created by Zedd's Z-Staff but, until she managed to cause this blizzard, I did not know how powerful she really was," he continued.

"Don't blame yourself, Zordon," Kira said. "You couldn't have known that Icia was going to be even more powerful than the average underling."

"I should have," Zordon replied as he sighed. "And, now, the other Rangers are trapped in their frozen Megazords because I underestimated her."

There was a long period of silence before Alpha 5 took over from Zordon.

"We've also got another problem right now. Squatt and Baboo are causing havoc over at the Corinth City Museum right now. They've wrecked the "History of the Power Rangers" exhibition and are terrorising all of the visitors right now," he added.

There was another long period of silence before Kimberly growled.

"That's it," she exclaimed. "Since Tommy is unconscious and Jason is trapped, I'm taking charge."

"Kimberly, are you sure that you want to..." RJ began.

"Yes," she interrupted simply. "_I _am taking charge now and you're not going to talk me out of it."

"As you wish, Kimberly," RJ replied submissively as he gave in. "So, what's the plan?"

"The plan is simple. Trent and Kira are going to go over to the Corinth City Museum. Once there, they're going to find Squatt and Baboo and deal with them. Meanwhile, RJ and Dominic are going to meet up with me so that we can come up with a plan to get rid of Icia. I'm not going to leave Tommy," she replied firmly.

"Can't you just send him back to the Brachiozord?" Trent suggested.

"Unfortunately, no," Alpha replied. "The teleport controls can't get a lock on any of you due to the interference that the blizzard is causing. Until Icia is destroyed, you're pretty much on your own. We'll be able to send you Zords and communicate with you but that's about it."

Kira shivered at that moment. "I'm starting to feel really, really cold," she said as she shivered.

"Ai, Ai, Ai, you don't have much time it seems," Alpha exclaimed. "There's some good news, although the temperature is still dropping, it isn't dropping as rapidly as it was originally. By my calculations, you've got a few hours to destroy Icia in before Corinth becomes a frozen wasteland."

"Just great," Kira said as she continued shivering. Both Trent and Tommy, although he was still unconscious, were doing the same as well.

"Zordon, Tommy's not going to last much longer in this weather," Kimberly said grimly. "And Trent and Kira aren't faring much better."

"What about you, Kimberly?" Dominic asked.

Kimberly blinked. "I'm fine," she replied. "Maybe it's because I'm in my Ranger form right now, though."

"The Ranger suits are adapted to deal with harsh climates to a certain extent," Zordon said. "They will protect you from the cold for a while but they will not be able to protect you forever. Trent, Kira, you should morph right away."

"What about Tommy?" RJ asked.

"Carry him into the Falconzord, Kimberly," Zordon commanded. "He should get some protection from the cold in there."

"I will Zordon," she promised. "Keep an eye on things and let us know if anything changes. RJ, you and Dominic had better hurry over here. We're not too far from your restaurant, I think."

"We're only a few blocks away," Kira said. "We're in the street that leads off from the square with the fountain in it."

"We'll be over in a few minutes," RJ promised.

"Kimberly out," she said as she deactivated the communication link. Then, she turned her attention to Kira and Trent.

"Morph, now," she commanded simply as she took her helmet back from Kira. Then, she placed it on Tommy's chest.

They nodded as their Dino Morphers appeared on their wrists. Then, they activated them.

"White Ranger, Dino Power!" Trent called.

"Dino Thunder, power up! Ha!" Kira called.

Then, they morphed. After a few moments, they stopped shivering.

"Wow, Zordon was right," Kira noted. "I'm nice and warm now."

"So am I," Trent noted as Kimberly lifted up Tommy into her arms. He was heavier than she expected but she didn't want to show weakness in front of Kira and Trent so she didn't ask them for help.

"Now go get rid of Squatt and Baboo. When they've fled, come straight back here," Kimberly commanded. They nodded and left.

As soon as she was sure that they were gone, Kimberly managed to carry Tommy into the Falconzord cockpit with great difficulty. Once inside, she barely managed to settle him into one of the chairs and, as soon as she had done so, she searched for the emergency blankets on board. Tommy was starting to shiver quite badly and, since his skin was freezing to touch, she guessed that he was starting to _really_ feel the cold.

It took her a few minutes to find the blankets as they had been stashed amongst the emergency first aid kit but, once she did, she instantly set about keeping Tommy warm by wrapping him in them.

Once she had done that, Kimberly looked at Tommy with a helpless expression upon her face as she stood just outside the hatch and shook off all of the snow from herself.

"Please, please, wake up Tommy. We could really, really use your help right now," she pleaded as she closed the hatch behind her as she came back in.

There was a long moment of silence before Kimberly sighed. It was quite clear to her that Tommy wasn't going to wake up any time soon. She knew that she just had to put aside her deep concern for him for now so that she could concentrate upon thinking up some sort of plan to get rid of Icia before it was too late.

_Corinth City, Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour and its surrounding area, late afternoon, at that very moment_

"...Ok, Tenaya, you're in charge here. Fire up the oven to full and keep all the customers nice and warm," RJ commanded. "Don't let any of them leave either as we don't want them dying from hypothermia or worse."

Tenaya nodded. "If they ask for you, what do I tell them?" she asked as Dominic and RJ grinned.

"I don't think that they will. We're going to make a very public exit," he said with a grin.

"They'll never forget this," Dominic added as the Rhino Blade appeared in his hand. "Ready?"

RJ nodded. "I'm ready," he replied. "However, we're not morphing in here."

"Why not?" Dominic asked.

"If we morph, you've got an excuse to wreck my restaurant in order to make our exit even more dramatic," RJ explained. "Besides, I've got a much better idea."

Fran started squeaking urgently and RJ rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry Fran. If that's your way of saying that I shouldn't frighten the customers, you shouldn't worry," he assured. "I'm not going to. Let's go."

And, with that, RJ calmly walked downstairs with a powerful air of authority surrounding him. As he appeared downstairs, all of the customers turned to him. Before they could even say one word, they fell utterly silent in awe of him.

Tenaya and Dominic were in awe that RJ could command such awe but neither of them said anything as RJ spoke.

"Listen, I know that you're all desperately worried for your relatives. And I know that all of you want to go home. Unfortunately, you can't," he replied. "If you go out there, you're almost certainly going to be killed by the freezing temperatures before you can reach safety."

There was a long moment of silence before RJ gestured to Tenaya 15.

"Go turn the oven up to full so that it'll keep the building warm," he commanded. She nodded and rushed to do his bidding as RJ then headed towards the door.

"Dominic, with me, now," he snapped.

"Yes, RJ," Dominic replied instantly as he moved to join him. It was only at that moment that most of the customers noticed the Rhino Blade that he was carrying. They seemed sensibly terrified of it and, in response to him grinning wickedly, they quickly shrunk away from him_._

"Hold on, you said..." one of the customers began.

RJ smiled. "I only said that you would be killed by the freezing temperatures," he countered. "Dominic and I are needed by some friends of ours to take care of something. We'll be back soon enough."

"But..." another customer began.

"Don't worry about us," Dominic assured. "I would suggest, though, that you all stand back from the door. It's about to get pretty chilly in here in a few seconds."

The customers instantly backed away from the door as RJ opened it. Within a few moments, the ongoing blizzard swept a significant amount of snow into the restaurant as RJ and Dominic left. All of the customers shivered uncontrollably as it quickly grew cold. However, before they could get too cold, one of them sensibly shut the door again.

Then, the customers all returned to their pizzas as Tenaya 15 returned from the kitchen with Fran upon her shoulder. She went over to the till and sighed.

_I miss all the fun sometimes... _she thought silently as she stood there.

_Corinth City, Alleyway, late afternoon, a minute or so later_

"How on earth did you manage that, RJ?" Dominic asked as they stood in the nearby alleyway shivering. "Tenaya and I were in awe that you could command such awe with that air of authority that you managed to project to the customers."

RJ sighed. "It was a fluke," he replied simply before he shivered. "We had better morph now."

Dominic nodded. "Ready?"

RJ nodded as he activated his Wolf Morpher. "I'm ready," he replied.

"Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!" they called together as they activated their morphers and simultaneously went through the stances. Then, they morphed.

"Much better," Dominic sighed as he quickly grew nice and warm. RJ grimaced as the winds driving the blizzard conditions picked up even further.

"The visibility out here is absolutely atrocious now," he noted. "We're going to have to stick together otherwise we could get lost."

Dominic nodded. Then, they rushed off towards Kimberly and the Falconzord together.

_Corinth City, Corinth City Museum, late afternoon, at that very moment_

"Man, the visibility out here is horrendous," Trent muttered as he and Kira took a good look around. "I'm sure that the museum is about here somewhere."

Due to the poor conditions, both of them were struggling to find the building. Eventually, though, Kira managed to spot what she thought was a banner detailing the opening of the exhibition on the "History Of The Power Rangers" hanging from one of the nearby buildings. She quickly guessed that building had to be the museum.

"There, Trent!" she said as she tugged on his arm and pointed towards the banner. He smiled.

"You're quick, Kira," he complimented as he took her hand. "Come on!"

They ran directly towards the building and, when they got closer, they were relieved to find that it was indeed he museum. As soon as they got inside, they were confronted by a group of civilians huddling in the entrance hall protected by the security officers from the Corinth Defence Force.

"Rangers!" one excited boy exclaimed when he spotted Trent and Kira.

The security officers turned instantly to the pair of them with relieved expressions upon their faces.

"Thank goodness, we didn't know how much longer we could hold out here," one of the security officers said. "The two monsters keep coming back to terrorise the civilians. We barely managed to hold them off the last time."

Trent sighed as he and Kira shook off the snow that covered them.

"Don't worry, we'll deal with them. Where are they?" Kira replied.

"They're currently wrecking most of the exhibition right now," another security officer replied.

"Come on, we've got to get rid of them both quickly so that we can get back to finding a way of getting rid of Icia," Trent said grimly.

Kira nodded in reply before they both rushed off through the museum to get to Squatt and Baboo. When they arrived at the exhibition, it was already completely trashed. Various exhibits lay strewn across the floor and, until they became aware of the two Dino Rangers watching them, the bumbling villains seemed to be delighting upon jumping up and down upon the RADBUG's roof.

As soon as they were aware of the Rangers, though, it was a different story. Squatt and Baboo instantly became threatening and flew from the roof the car at the pair of them. However, Kira and Trent stepped out of their way so they ended up continuing past the two Rangers and, eventually, they hit the ground.

"You two really are stupid," Kira said as she took off her helmet and dropped it to the ground. "Go back to your master, Lord Zedd."

"Make us!" Baboo exclaimed stupidly as the two villains got back up.

Trent grinned as he drew the Drago Sword. "If that's your wish," he said. "Kira?"

She smiled. Then, she unleashed a Ptera Scream upon the two villains. Whilst it incapacitated the two villains, Trent quickly struck them repeatedly and, eventually, they were sent flying to the floor again.

"Baboo, I think that it's time for a hasty retreat," Squatt exclaimed. Baboo nodded and they both vanished in a flash of green light.

"Cowards," Kira muttered as she picked up her helmet and put it back on. "We had better leave the security officers with instructions, contact Kimberly and swiftly leave here now that they've fled."

Trent nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we're running out of time to deal with Icia," he said grimly. "Soon, Corinth will become a frozen wasteland if we can't stop her."

They returned to the entrance hall where the security officers were waiting for them.

"They're gone now," Trent informed everyone. "However, they've absolutely trashed the exhibition."

"What are your orders, Rangers?" one of the security officers asked.

"Secure the exhibits and make sure that all of these people here are comfortable," Kira replied. "Try to keep this place as warm as possible for as long as you possibly can."

The security officers nodded.

"It shall be done," another replied. "Now, you must go. Corinth still needs you."

Kira and Trent nodded. Then, they left.

Outside, Kira activated her communicator and contacted Kimberly.

"... So, are they gone?" Kimberly asked as soon as the communication link became active.

"Yes, they are," Trent replied.

"It didn't take much to completely scare them off either," Kira added in distaste. "They're complete cowards."

Kimberly laughed at this.

"I know," she said simply. "Good work, both of you."

"It might take us a while but we'll be back soon," Trent promised. "Where are RJ and Dominic?"

"They're just about here, I think," Kimberly replied. "I had better go now so that they don't blunder about aimlessly out there for a while."

And, without another word, Kimberly deactivated the communication link. Trent and Kira sighed. Then, without another word, they began to slowly make their way back through the blizzard to the Falconzord.

_Corinth City, Megazord/RPM Ultrazord Cockpits, late afternoon, at that very moment_

"Wow, Ziggy, I'm impressed," Jason said finally after Ziggy had finished telling them his tale.

"It seems that there's still hope for you yet," Zack added with a chuckle.

"Hey!" Ziggy protested.

Everyone laughed at this before Scott sobered the mood up when he said, "I wonder what's taking them so long. They should have come to rescue us by now."

"They're probably dealing with something important," Jason replied. "Don't worry, they'll rescue us soon enough. I'm sure of it."

"But what if they don't..." Flynn began.

"No, don't ever think like that," Zack said quite firmly. "They'll come to our aid."

"How can you be so sure?" Scott demanded.

"Because, Scott, they're also Power Rangers," Dillon said simply. "And Rangers never abandon other Rangers. They'll come."

"Dillon's right. Tommy's never let us down before anyway," Billy added. "Even in the toughest crisis, he has always pulled through for us. We're not worried."

"Besides, if we were worried, we wouldn't be able to tell you all about what happened to us today," Trini said slyly. "Zack had a very, shall we say, chilly confrontation with Cestria at the lake."

Zack growled. At that moment, he was glad that he was wearing his helmet as it concealed his furious embarrassment.

"What happened?" Gem and Gemma demanded simultaneously.

"Well..." Jason smiled as he chuckled whilst relaxing in the chair he was sitting in. "It's a long story."

"We're waiting," Summer said simply as Jason paused for a long moment.

"Fine," Jason said as he gave in. "You see..." he began as he started to tell them all about their mischief at the lakeside.

_Corinth City, In The Streets Of Corinth, Falconzord Cockpit, early evening, a__ few minutes later_

As the alarm went off, Kimberly instantly turned away from Tommy to the viewing screen. On-screen, the Falconzord warned that the temperature was now at -10ºC, and was still declining, by bringing up a thermometer.

_We're running out of time. _Kimberly thought as she turned back to Tommy. _And he's still unconscious..._

At that moment, there was a knock upon the hatch.

_That's got to be RJ and Dominic. _She thought. _At last._

"I'm coming!" she called aloud as she went over to the hatch and opened it. Sure enough, RJ and Dominic came in seconds later. They were about to instinctively shake the snow off themselves all over Tommy and the rest of the Falconzord but Kimberly quickly stopped them.

"Don't get snow all over the place in here. If you want to get rid of the thick layer of snow covering you, make sure that all the snow goes outside," she commanded.

They nodded. "Yes, Kimberly," they said submissively as they turned around and stood just outside of the hatch. Then, they quickly shook off all of the snow before they came back in.

Kimberly closed the hatch behind them and sighed.

"There's still no change in Tommy," she informed them. "And I have no idea how we're going to deal with Icia."

"Neither do we," Dominic added. "We've been thinking about it since we left the pizza parlour as well."

"We're at a complete loss," RJ grimaced. "If Tommy were conscious, I'm sure that we would have thought up a brilliant plan by now."

"Well he's not," Kimberly snapped. "So we're going to have to think up a plan on our own."

There were several long minutes of uneasy silence.

"Who am I kidding?" she finally blurted out. "There's no way that we're going to be able to think up a plan on our own in the short time that we've got left."

"Zeozord V, Kimberly," Tommy murmured. "Use the Phoenix to..."

Everyone instantly turned to Tommy as he fell silent. Almost instantly, RJ and Dominic knew what they had to do because of what he had said.

"Tommy?" Kimberly exclaimed. "Can you hear me?"

"It's no use, Kimberly," RJ said grimly as he went over to check Tommy. "Although he seems to be partially aware of what's going on, he's still deeply unconscious. He's not going to wake up fully yet."

"However, he has been most helpful," Dominic added.

"We know now what we've got to do to get rid of Icia," RJ smiled. "If we use the Phoenix to warm the city then that should eventually thaw the Megazord and the RPM Ultrazord out as well. Whilst they're thawing, though, they're going to be vulnerable so Dominic should protect them with the Rhino Steel Zord in Warrior Mode."

"Our actions will also draw Icia out as well. Trent and Kira, since they've got a few powerful Megazords at their disposal, should be the ones to fight her," Dominic added. "They'll need to find a way past any icy attacks she throws at them, though, but they're intelligent enough that I'm confident that they'll manage to defeat her."

"That sounds like a good enough plan to me," Kimberly smiled. "Since nobody mentioned what I'm going to do, I guess I get to stay with Tommy and make sure that he's all right."

RJ nodded as he made an exaggerated gesture. "Someone has to look after our glorious leader. Who better than an Original Ranger?"

Kimberly smiled at this. "I suppose so."

"Come on, we had better go outside to contact Alpha. I don't think that we should call him from in here," RJ said grimly as he went over to the hatch and tried to open it.

"What's wrong?" Dominic asked instantly as soon as the hatch didn't open. RJ grimaced.

"It seems that we have a minor problem. The hatch into the Falconzord has frozen shut," he replied.

Kimberly groaned. At that moment, Tommy's communicator went off.

"That'll be Trent and Kira," Dominic said grimly as RJ went over to Tommy's wrist and activated the communicator.

"We're back. Any chance of opening the hatch for us?" Kira asked as soon as the communication link became active.

"Unfortunately, the hatch has frozen shut. You're going to have to help us by defrosting the hatch from the outside enough so that we can break out," RJ replied.

Kira and Trent quickly checked the ice around the hatch into the cockpit. "It's going to be a difficult job. There's quite a thick layer of ice around the hatch out here," Trent informed them grimly.

"We should be able to do it, though," Kira assured.

"All right, give it a try. I'll try my best from this side to force the hatch open as well," Dominic said as he cracked his knuckles. Then, without saying anything else, he got into position behind the hatch as the sound of Trent and Kira firing upon the ice around the hatch could be heard.

Next, he waited for a few minutes before he started to press his entire weight against the hatch in an attempt to force it open. Eventually, after another few minutes, the hatch unexpectedly burst open when Dominic gave it an almighty shove and he tumbled out of the Falconzord to land before Trent and Kira. They deactivated their weapons and smiled.

"Good work," RJ complimented as he climbed out after Dominic and helped him up. "Now, we've just got to deal with Icia and her blizzard."

"Have you got a plan?" Kira asked as Kimberly deactivated the communication link and came out of the Falconzord after them. She shut the hatch behind her.

"Yes, we do," she said as she activated her communicator. "RJ should be the one to tell you, though."

At that moment, all five of them could hear Alpha over the communication link as it activated.

"RJ?" Alpha asked.

"We've got some good news, Alpha, Zordon. Squatt and Baboo have been dealt with," he replied.

"Your time is running out, Rangers. The temperature is still dropping rapidly and it will soon reach a dangerous level. If you do not stop Icia soon, all of Corinth will become a frozen wasteland," Zordon warned.

"We know, Zordon," Dominic assured. "But, courtesy of Tommy, we've now got a plan."

"Is he..." Zordon began.

"No, Zordon," RJ replied. "He's still unconscious."

Zordon grimaced. "Do you think that he..."

"Almost certainly Zordon," RJ replied simply. "There can be no other explanation."

Everyone was confused about what RJ and Zordon were talking about but, before they could ask, RJ just shrugged them off.

"It's nothing important," he assured as he swiftly diverted the conversation back to their plan of action. "Anyway, we're going to need the Phoenix right now. I'm going to use it to thaw the city and I'm sure that it'll lure Icia out as well. From there, Dominic's going to protect the Megazord and the RPM Ultrazord whilst they thaw. As for Trent and Kira, they're going to face Icia with one of their Megazords."

"What about Kimberly?" Kira asked.

"I'm staying here. Someone has to keep an eye upon Tommy," Kimberly replied simply. "Besides, my only Zord is a frozen part of the Megazord right now. Hence, I can be of best use here."

There was a long moment of silence before Alpha spoke.

"I'm sending the Phoenix, RJ," Alpha warned. "Cestria's piloting it as she thinks that her talents will be extremely useful to you."

"I suppose they will be..." RJ mused as the Phoenix passed through the shields.

"Get ready!" he called as he leapt into the Phoenix.

Kimberly sighed. "Alpha, send the Rhino Steel Zord..."

"And the Thundersaurus Megazord with..." Kira added.

"The Cephalozord," Trent finished.

Everyone stared at him.

"I've got a plan!" Trent promised. "You see..." he began.

_Corinth City, In The Skies Beneath The Dome But Above the City, Zeozord V, Phoenix, Cockpit, early evening, a few minutes later_

"I'll take over from here, Cestria," RJ said grimly as he entered the cockpit.

"Right," she replied as she got up and let him take control of the Phoenix. "I believe that I can use my talents to intensify the heat the Phoenix gives off during a fiery burst by about a hundred times which should thaw out Corinth City within a few minutes."

"You'll end up being utterly exhausted, Cestria. Are you really sure that you want to do this?" he said gently. She nodded.

"Of course. It's the only way that you're going to be able to stop the rapid temperature decline now," she replied grimly. "You just fire up the Phoenix's fiery attack and I'll do the rest."

He nodded. "All right, Cestria. If that's what you wish..." he replied as he began to fiddle with the controls of Zeozord V. Within a few minutes, he managed to prepare a fiery burst as Cestria prepared herself for what she had to do.

"It's ready?" she asked as she sat down behind RJ on the floor of the Phoenix cockpit.

"Yes, Cestria, it's ready. Just give the word and I'll set off the attack," RJ replied.

"I'm ready as well. Do it, RJ," she replied.

RJ nodded. Then, without another word, he activated the fiery burst as Cestria closed her eyes.

_I just hope that she knows what she's doing... _he thought.

_Corinth City, In The Streets Of Corinth, early evening, at that very moment_

"Wow, look at that!" Trent exclaimed as the sky above Corinth was suddenly filled by a fiery whirlwind originating from the Phoenix which Cestria must have created using her telekinetic powers.

"It's working," Dominic noted as the snow falling from the sky was quickly turned to rain. At the same time, the snow around them began to melt rapidly. "However, it's not the fiery whirlwind or the temperature rise that's causing the snow to melt this fast. Nor are they causing the water to rapidly be absorbed by the ground either."

"What?" Kira said as she blinked.

"It's Cestria," Kimberly said softly. "As well as being telekinetic and telepathic, she has great power over water."

Kimberly paused for a moment.

"However, I've never seen any of her people display this level of power before," she added as an after thought.

"I wonder how she's doing it," Trent mused. At that moment, Icia suddenly appeared as she grew to a massive size nearby just as their Zords appeared through the shields. "That's our cue to go, I guess."

"Come on," Kira said as she took Trent's hand and leapt up into the Pterazord with him. Dominic sighed before he jumped onto his Rhino Steel Zord after them.

Kimberly watched them go with a sigh. _Good luck. _She thought.

_Corinth City, In The Streets Of Corinth, Falconzord Cockpit, early evening, also that very moment_

Since Kimberly was outside, no one but the Falconzord knew that its master was unconsciously aiding Cestria in a way that no one would be able to guess.

_Corinth City, Megazord/RPM Ultrazord Cockpits, early evening, at that very moment_

"We're thawing out! Our visual sensors are online!" Trini exclaimed.

"So are ours!" Flynn added as their surroundings came up on-screen.

"Wow... what a pretty boom..." Gem and Gemma said simultaneously as they stared transfixed at the whirlwind of fire that the Phoenix was giving off.

"That must be how the others are thawing the city!" Zack exclaimed.

"Not quite, Zack," Billy replied grimly. "I'm afraid the only way that whirlwind of fire could be warming the whole city is if Cestria's using her unique talents to intensify the heat coming from it by a hundred times. Even then, she isn't capable of this level of power."

"Perhaps Zordon is aiding her," Summer suggested.

"Perhaps," Billy agreed although he didn't seem too convinced by Summer's suggestion.

"Guys, we've got a problem, Icia's back!" Dillon warned.

"Don't worry about her, guys," Dominic replied with a smile as his voice came over an active communication link from the Rhino Steel Zord in Warrior Mode as it put itself in front of both the Megazord and the RPM Ultrazord in a defensive position. Then, it raised its shield. "Kira and Trent are going to take care of her."

"There's no way that they'll be able to..." Flynn began.

"You underestimate them, Flynn," Jason said. "I'm sure that they'll find a way to destroy Icia."

"Jason's right," Billy added. "Kira and Trent were exclusively trained by Tommy so, if anything, they're going to be extremely resourceful."

"But..." Flynn began.

"No, Flynn. All we can do now is kick back and watch the fireworks," Scott replied simply to end the argument as he relaxed in his chair.

_Corinth City, early evening, a few minutes later_

"How dare you foil my plan, Rangers!" Icia shrieked. "I was so close to..."

"Destroying Corinth. Yes, we know," Kira interrupted as the Cephalozord became attached to the Thundersaurus Megazord in place of the Tyrannozord's tail. "Maybe if you had made sure that you had defeated all of the Rangers you might have won but it's too late now."

"Kira's right. Your time is up, Icia," Trent added.

"You really think that you can do better than your fellow Rangers?" Icia exclaimed.

"Yes," Kira said simply. "Bring it on, Icia!"

Icia growled. "I have nothing to lose now. I'll make you regret ever facing me!"

At that moment, she suddenly began to glow with a bluish white glow.

"Get ready!" Trent warned. "I think that she's going to unleash something powerful against us!"

A few seconds later, thick globes of ice surrounded the Thundersaurus Megazord. Then, they began to spin rapidly in a circle around the Megazord in an attempt to trap it so that Icia could unleash a powerful attack.

"Oh no you don't, Icia!" Kira exclaimed as she put her hands around the globe. Seconds later, it began to glow as the Cephalozord activated.

"Cephalo Power Punch!" she called as the Cephalozord began to knock the globes of ice at Icia in rapid succession. Icia tried to dodge them but she just couldn't dodge them all and was thrown backwards into what little remained of the apartment block which had been blown up by Miratrix as several of the globes collided with her.

"Time to end this, I think," Kira said grimly as she nodded to Trent.

"It'll be my pleasure, Kira," Trent grinned as he put his hands around one of the globes. Seconds later, as the globe glowed, the Cephalozord detached from the Thundersaurus Megazord to be replaced with the Tyrannozord's tail again.

"This is your end, Icia!" Trent called as the Thundersaurus Megazord leapt high into the air as the drill started to spin rapidly. "Dino Drill!"

"No!" Icia shrieked as the Thundersaurus Megazord brought the drill down upon her and punched a massive hole through her. "I will not be..."

However, before she could finish, she was destroyed in a massive explosion as the Thundersaurus Megazord leapt back. At the same time, the Megazord and the RPM Ultrazord thawed out. Then, the whirlwind of fire vanished as the temperature of Corinth returned to normal.

"Nice job, Trent," Kira complimented as she surveyed the apartment block which had been completely demolished by the explosion. "And, for once, it looks like the only thing that got damaged was something due for demolition anyway. We've probably saved Colonel Truman a fortune in demolition costs today."

Trent laughed helplessly. "I know," he replied simply.

_Corinth City, In The Streets of Corinth, early evening, at that very moment_

As Icia's crown finally clattered to the ground near Kimberly and shrunk back to normal size, she instantly looked up. She had been startled by the noise it had made when it had hit the ground and, to be honest, she couldn't quite believe what she saw when her eyes rested upon it.

"Is that..." she began out loud as she hesitantly approached the crown. As soon as she got closer, her eyes widened further when she saw how beautiful it was. Slowly, she knelt beside it and picked it up.

She examined it for a few minutes and was amazed to find that it had not been damaged at all by the explosion caused by Icia's destruction or by the fall to the ground.

_Just wait until I show the others this... _she thought as she turned and walked back into the Falconzord to check upon Tommy. Little did Kimberly realise at that moment as she returned to the Falconzord that the crystal roses upon the crown were beginning to turn pink in response to her touch.

_The Moon, Zedd and Rita's palace, early evening, also at that very moment_

As Zedd stood there at the balcony besides Rita's telescope, he was furious again.

"I despise the Power Rangers," he muttered as Squatt and Baboo fearfully entered the room.

"Lord Zedd... we..." Squatt and Baboo began.

"I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses," Zedd bellowed as he turned to them. "You failed. End of story."

"But Lord Zedd..." they began.

"Get out of my sight!" Zedd roared. They flinched and fled as Finster entered.

"And you, Finster, go make some monsters for me!" Zedd added angrily. Finster just as quickly left at that point without saying a word.

As Zedd stood there, he sighed as his love for Rita shone through his evil side again.

_Oh Rita, I wish you were at my side right now..._ he thought silently to himself as he stood there and admired the stars whilst his thoughts were only of her.

Then, a few minutes later, he turned and angrily left the room to punish Squatt and Baboo for their actions as the evil side buried his love for Rita again.


	32. Chapter 22: Icy Aftermath

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 22: Icy Aftermath

_Corinth City, In The Streets of Corinth, early evening, a few minutes later_

"Nice job, you two!" Jason complimented Trent and Kira as everyone gathered around outside of the Falconzord. They had all powered down and all of them were relieved that Icia had been destroyed.

"Thanks," Kira replied as RJ, the last to arrive, leapt out of the Phoenix before it returned to the Brachiozord. He was carrying Cestria who seemed extremely pale.

"Cestria!" Billy exclaimed as he saw her. "You..."

"I'm just fine, husband," she replied as she tried to get out of RJ's arms. He stopped her and handed her over to Billy instead.

"No, she's not," RJ said grimly. "She collapsed into unconsciousness for a few minutes after the whirlwind of fire stopped. She's very, very weak so I wouldn't listen to a word that she says."

Billy nodded. "Don't worry, I won't," he assured as he held Cestria.

"How did you do it, Cestria?" Trent asked curiously.

"I don't know. All I do know is that I didn't do it on my own," she replied grimly. "There was someone else helping me but I couldn't quite find out who. Their mind was just too well shielded for me to see into but I could tell one thing."

"What?" Jason asked.

"It wasn't Zordon. Not even Zordon has the power that I sensed from that mind..." she continued.

"Are you sure?" Billy and RJ asked urgently at the same time.

"Of course I'm sure. Why, is there something that you're not telling me?" Cestria replied.

"Of course not," RJ and Billy replied simultaneously again.

"The presence of another powerful being greater than Zordon worries us, that's all," RJ lied convincingly as he and Billy shared a grim look.

"It worries me too," Jason added.

"I'll talk to Zordon about it," Billy promised.

"While you're talking to Zordon, you might want to give this," Kimberly said as she revealed Icia's crown.

"It's Icia's crown," Summer exclaimed.

"No it isn't. The crown had white roses not pink ones," Ziggy pointed out. Kimberly looked down in surprise to notice that the roses had indeed turned pink.

"I don't know how the roses managed to turn pink but I swear that they were white to begin with," she said. Billy whistled.

"I might have an explanation for that. Perhaps Kimberly corrupted them when she touched the crown," he suggested.

"That sounds feasible," Cestria agreed. "However, it means that..."

Both of them looked up at Kimberly with strange unreadable expressions upon their faces. Kimberly blushed.

"Ok, would you care to explain why you're looking at Kimberly like that?" Kira asked.

"It doesn't matter," Billy replied simply as he took the crown from Kimberly. "It's best that I take that from you, Kimberly. Now, if you don't mind, I think that we should leave before the media find us here."

"Of course, Billy. We should all head back to the Brachiozord," Jason agreed.

"We can't," Dominic said grimly. "RJ and I have to head back to the pizza parlour and relieve Tenaya. We'll see you later."

With that, RJ and Dominic left.

"And I had best go survey the true extent of the damage done to the exhibition over at the Corinth City Museum," Kimberly added.

"All right, let's go," Jason said to everyone else as he activated the teleportation controls in his communicator. Seconds later, everyone but Kimberly had vanished.

It was just as they were vanishing that Kimberly remembered about Tommy. During their discussion, she had completely forgotten about having someone take him back to IRMA in the Brachiozord to get him checked out. She groaned.

_Oh well, I'll just have to take Tommy with me, I guess. _She thought as she made her way back into the Falconzord. _When he wakes, he's not going to be happy to find out that everyone forgot about him._

Minutes later, the Falconzord took off before it began to make its way across town to the Corinth City Museum.

_Corinth City, In The Skies Beneath The Dome But Above the City, Falconzord Cockpit, early evening, another few minutes later_

As Tommy stirred, the Falconzord started to make a lot of noise. Kimberly instantly put the Zord onto autopilot and rushed over to him.

"Tommy, can you hear me?" she asked. "Tommy?"

He groaned as his snapped open. "Kimberly..." he began.

"Tommy!" she interrupted as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. "I'm just glad that you're awake. Are you all right?"

"I'm just fine," he lied. Truthfully, Tommy wasn't fine. His body was in agony due to the powerful lightning bolt that Zedd had struck him with, and his teeth were aching quite badly as well, but he didn't want to worry Kimberly so he had lied.

"So, what happened?" Tommy asked as he noticed that he was wrapped in blankets after a long moment of silence.

"It's a long story," Kimberly smiled before she began to tell him about everything that had happened after he had been knocked out. "After you were knocked out..."

_Corinth City, Jungle Karma Pizza Parlour and its surrounding area, early evening, at that very moment_

As Dominic and RJ returned, they instantly noticed that the restaurant was quite quiet. Only a few customers remained sitting at the tables closest to the corners whilst the others appeared to have left.

_Most of them must have gone home, then. _RJ thought as Tenaya rushed through from the kitchen with Fran upon her shoulder.

"You're back," she said instantly. "How did it go?"

"Well," RJ replied cryptically as he gestured to her to follow them both into the kitchen. "Icia, the monster Zedd unleashed which was behind the blizzard, has been destroyed. The others have returned to the Brachiozord."

"What about me?" Tenaya 15 asked as Fran leapt onto Dominic's shoulder.

"You can go back as well. Dominic and I should be able to handle the rest of the day from here," RJ assured.

"We always used to do it when..." Dominic began but fell silent when RJ's glared at him.

"When what?" Tenaya asked.

"Never mind," Dominic replied. "You should get going, Tenaya, in case RJ decides to change his mind."

Tenaya nodded and activated the teleportation controls upon the communicator around her wrist. Seconds later, she vanished as RJ turned and made his way through to the till where a customer was waiting to be served.

"Welcome to Jungle Karma Pizza. May I take your order?" he asked politely.

"Well, I would like..." the customer began as RJ listened intently.

_Corinth City, In The Streets Of Corinth, Falconzord Cockpit, mid-evening, some time later_

"We're here. Here, I'll put the blankets away," Kimberly said finally after she had finished telling Tommy about everything that had transpired whilst he had been unconscious.

"No, it's all right, I'll do it," Tommy replied quickly as he folded up the blankets in his arms. "You go in and tell them that we're here to inspect the damage. I'll be along in a minute."

"Are you sure?" Kimberly asked.

"Yeah. Go on, I'll be right behind you," Tommy promised. She shrugged as she nodded.

"If that's what you want..." she said simply as she left the Falconzord. Tommy sighed in relief.

As soon as she was gone, he quickly rushed over to where the emergency first aid kit was stored and opened it up. Then, he put the blankets back into the kit as he took the box of painkillers out. Tommy knew that there was no way that he would be able to function normally for long without reducing the pain he was in so he took several of the painkillers from the box, put the box back into the kit and swallowed one of the pills. The rest, he put in one of his suit pockets for later on if he needed them.

"Are you coming?" Kimberly called from outside the Falconzord.

"Yes, I'll be right there," Tommy replied as he put the kit back where it belonged. Then, he left the Falconzord.

_Corinth City, Corinth City Museum, mid-evening, a few minutes later_

"What took you so long in there?" Kimberly asked as they entered the Corinth City Museum.

"I couldn't find the emergency first aid kit," Tommy lied quickly. Kimberly laughed helplessly at him.

"Oh, Tommy you're absolutely hopeless at times, you know that?" she laughed.

"I know," he replied with a brilliant smile. "But..."

He never got a chance to finish as the security officers from the Corinth Defence Force surrounded them.

"I'm sorry but..." one of them began.

"We know, the museum is closed due to the fact that Squatt and Baboo trashed the place earlier," Tommy replied with a sigh. "We're here to survey the damage."

"Ah..." one of them said simply as he gestured them to follow. "Right this way."

He began to lead them through the museum and, as they grew closer to the exhibition on the "History of the Power Rangers", they began to see the carnage that Squatt and Baboo had caused. Some paintings were torn in places, others had fallen to the floor and all of the artefacts were damaged or destroyed.

When they got the exhibition, they weren't surprised to find that it had been completely trashed. Shattered glass lay everywhere and the various exhibits were badly damaged and lay strewn across the floor. Kimberly grimaced as she looked around at the damage.

"It's going to take a lot of work to repair all of this," Kimberly warned.

"We could always ask Zordon to do it," Tommy suggested. "He'll fix everything so that the museum can be reopened in a few days instead of a few weeks."

"We could," Kimberly agreed as they carefully made their way through the exhibition.

"What was Lord Zedd after?" Tommy asked as they reached the end of the exhibition.

"Well, as far as we can tell, it's one of the oddities at the back of the museum," one of the other security officers replied as they reached the final section of the museum.

As soon as Tommy entered the final section, his teeth started to ache and his eyes were drawn to the empty pedestal at the back of the room.

"What was there?" Tommy asked as he pointed to the pedestal.

"We've got a photo of it, here, sir," one of the other security officers said as they passed him a photo. As soon as Tommy saw the object in the photo, the golden box, he turned pale.

_But that's... _he thought.

"Tommy, what is it?" Kimberly asked as she poured over the photo with him. "Do you know what this golden box is?"

_Of course I do. I can't tell you about it, though. _Tommy thought as he avoided her gaze for a moment. _Say nothing... Say nothing..._

"Tommy?" Kimberly demanded.

_Oh, crap. She's going to pester me until I say something. I had better lie then. _Tommy swore silently as he flinched.

"It's a priceless, and potentially important, artefact which could be very dangerous in Zedd's hands," he lied. "Zedd could only have wanted it for one reason."

"It's powerful?" Kimberly asked.

Tommy nodded. "Must be if Zedd wanted it. He never goes after anything unless it is useful to him as well," he added.

Kimberly sighed. "I guess we had better get back to the Brachiozord and inform Zordon about this, then," she said grimly.

"Yeah, we should get back. It must be about time for dinner now," Tommy agreed as he turned to the security officers. "Thanks for letting us survey the damage."

They nodded and saluted as Tommy and Kimberly left the museum.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, mid-evening, some time later_

As Cestria began to dish out dinner to everyone in the Ranger Planning Room, Tommy and Kimberly arrived.

"Sorry that we're late," Kimberly apologised.

"We were over at the museum surveying the damage," Tommy added. "And everyone forgot about me!"

"Tommy, you're awake!" Jason exclaimed before he looked down at the table in shame. "I'm sorry about that. We really should have remembered about you being unconscious in the Falconzord. I swear that we would have brought you back here if everything else hadn't distracted us."

Tommy grinned. "No worries," he replied with a shrug as he and Kimberly took their seats. "I'm rather glad that you did forget, to be honest, as I learned something important over at the museum."

"Well, what did you find out, Tommy?" Billy asked.

"Only that Zedd has gone and stolen a priceless, and potentially important, artefact over at the Corinth City Museum," Tommy replied grimly.

"Is it..." Billy and RJ began. Tommy nodded as he knew what they were about to ask.

"Extremely dangerous if in the wrong hands?" he lied as he glared at Billy and RJ. "Yes. We're going to have to be very careful when we're fighting Zedd from now on in case he uses it."

Billy and RJ both turned pale and, along with Zordon, they remained silent as Tommy went on to explain about the exhibition.

"...It's completely trashed down there. It's going to take a miracle to have it open any time soon," he continued.

"I will see to that, Tommy," Zordon promised. "I will go down and fix the exhibition tomorrow when I get a chance."

Tommy nodded. "Thanks, Zordon," he replied simply.

"Now that all of the declarations are out of the way, I guess that we should enjoy what we've got left of our day," Kimberly suggested as Cestria finished dishing out dinner. She looked up along the table to RJ who was quietly contemplating something.

"So, RJ, how did the pizza parlour go?" she asked.

RJ looked up and blinked. "Extremely well, surprisingly," he replied. "We..."

At that moment, as RJ went into the details about the takings and the high level of customer satisfaction, Tenaya was glaring at Bulk and Skull. They were nervously playing with their food and she was instantly suspicious.

"What have you done?" she asked instantly. Bulk and Skull blinked as they looked to her.

"What do you mean?" they both said in reply as they pretended not to understand what she was talking about.

"Don't lie to me. You're playing with your food, which you've never done that before, so you must be hiding something," she pointed out.

"We're not hiding anything. We're just not hungry, that's all," Bulk replied quickly.

"Yeah," Skull replied. "We had quite a massive lunch today."

Tenaya didn't seem too convinced but sighed.

"I see," she said simply as she turned away from the pair of them to talk to Dr K..

_Phew..._ Both Bulk and Skull thought simultaneously as they sat there. _That was close..._

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, late evening, a while later_

Once Tommy was sure everyone had finished their dinner, he quickly swallowed another painkiller whilst everyone was distracted before he stood up.

"Well, I think that we all deserve a hard earned rest tonight after everything that we've done," he said simply as he yawned. "Good night."

He left at that point and everyone else quickly followed. As soon as everyone else was gone, Zordon sighed.

_Now it's time to reclaim the box... _he thought. _I am surprised that no one else knows that Bulk and Skull, and not Zedd, __really have the golden box. Oh well, I just have to wait until those fools fall asleep, I guess._

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Bulk and Skull's base, late evening, half an hour later_

As soon as he was sure that they were asleep, Zordon crept into Bulk and Skull's room_. _He looked around for a moment before he spotted the box on the table. Quietly, he crept over and took up the golden box by using a white cloth to pick it up. Zordon knew that he couldn't risk touching the box in case it reacted to his presence and alerted evil to the fact that he had it so he was using the cloth to touch it instead. However, he didn't quite know whether or not it would be enough to hide the fact that he had the box from evil or not.

As he crept out of the room, Bulk and Skull stirred again. He was just fortunate that he had vanished out into the corridor before either of them woke up.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late evening, a few minutes later_

"Zordon, is that..." Alpha began as he entered the main Command Centre carrying the golden box concealed within a white cloth. "But how did you..."

"Bulk and Skull managed to stop Zedd from getting his hands upon it, Alpha," Zordon smiled. "Summon Billy, Tommy and RJ to the main Command Centre immediately."

"Yes, Zordon," Alpha replied as he went over to the console and began to rapidly type in commands whilst Zordon sat down in the main Command Chair.

"And Alpha?" Zordon added in as an afterthought.

"Yes, Zordon?" Alpha replied.

"Warn them that it is going to be a long night," he said grimly.


	33. Visions Part 1: Visions of Beginnings

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Visions Part 1: Visions of Beginnings

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, very late in the evening, some time later_

"Zordon? Why did you call us here?" Tommy asked as he, Billy and RJ entered the main Command Centre. Alpha 5 stood at Zordon's side and was quiet as Zordon spoke.

"Because of this, Rangers," Zordon replied as he revealed the golden box which was wrapped in the white cloth upon his lap.

"Is that..." Billy began. "But I thought that Zedd had gotten his hands upon it!"

"No, Rangers, Zedd did not get his hands upon it," Zordon said with a smile. "Because Bulk and Skull managed to spirit it away from Zedd before he could take it from the Corinth City Museum."

"Wow, they must have been especially brave to stand up to Zedd," Tommy said with a stunned expression upon his face.

"They were especially brave indeed and, fortunately, completely in the dark about what the box _really _is," Zordon agreed. "If they had not been completely innocent, the box would have likely killed them like it probably tried to kill Zedd."

"How come it hasn't..." RJ began.

"I have not touched the box, Rangers, because, if I do, all the powerful good and evil sources in the world will know that _I _have got it and we will be in a lot of trouble. Hence, it has also not tried to kill me as it knows that I do not want to wield it," he explained. Tommy took a deep breath.

"And that really contains..." Tommy began. Zordon nodded.

"Oh yes. It really does contain a part of that which was split and hidden long ago," Zordon assured. "And it is still in there."

"Zordon, are you really sure that it..." Tommy began. Zordon nodded.

"Oh yes. If the part was not in there, it would not be making my teeth ache because I am in close proximity to it," he assured.

Tommy was grim. "And I have to..." he began.

"Simply take the box from my lap. What you must do next will then become clear to you," Zordon said simply. Tommy nodded and took a deep breath. "I must warn you, though, that everyone will know what has happened the moment that your hands touch the box. Evil will start to seek you out now but you must keep your identity a secret for as long as possible although it may get quite difficult to do so at times."

Tommy nodded. "I understand, Zordon."

"Take the box now then," he said commandingly as Tommy took another deep breath.

Then, Tommy stepped forward and took the box from Zordon. Almost as soon as his fingers touched the box, his teeth began to ache worse than they ever had before.

There was silence for a moment. Then, his mind saw them as a powerful golden flash of light blinded everyone as it spread out from the box.

The visions.

_Somewhere near Blue Bay Harbour, Wind Ninja Academy, Ninja Operations, very late in the evening, at that very moment_

"Ethan, wait!" Conner exclaimed. "I'm sorry about what he said. Eric can be quite a jerk at times."

Ethan, from where he was standing in the stairwell down to Ninja Ops, sighed as he turned to Conner whilst he headed down the stairs.

"I know, Conner, but I'm starting to get quite sick of it. He doesn't treat me seriously or respectfully at all," he replied. "To be honest, he doesn't take anything seriously. Not even the mess that we're in right now."

"I know. He's a complete and utter jerk," Conner sighed as he followed Ethan down the stairs. "When he acts that way, it makes me glad that I met you, Kira, Trent and Dr O.. If I hadn't, I could have turned out like he has."

Ethan smiled. "A complete and utter jerk too," he said.

Conner nodded. "But don't tell him that I said that."

"I won't," Ethan promised as he sighed. "Conner, I'm worried. Despite the Sensei's reassurances, they barely managed to hold off Lothor's army when they attacked the academy today. Without their Ranger Powers, they're fighting a losing battle and there's nothing that we can do to help them."

Conner sighed. "We've been here for two years and, despite learning all we can from secretly watching their techniques, it's still not enough to be allowed entry into the academy to learn more. Eric rejoined so why won't they let us join as well?"

"You're not allowed to enter the academy because Dr Tommy Oliver taught you everything he knew about an art long lost to us and we don't want his teachings to be corrupted," Cam replied as he revealed that he was sitting in the chair.

"What?" Ethan exclaimed. "So you're telling us that..."

"You're mysteries to us," Cam replied quite simply. "Let me explain. Long ago, the scrolls tell us that the first ninjas, under the command of a warrior known as Ninjor, learned and used a technique called Ninjetti. It was based upon the animal spirits within and those who used it were known to be formidable in battle. However, Ninjor left them and, after a few years, there was a split."

"What happened?" Conner asked curiously.

"A group splintered off from the first ninjas calling themselves Pai Zhua, the Order of the Claw, and continued to use the Ninjetti technique along with kung fu. As far as we know, they left because of an ancient evil known as Dai Shi during the first Beast War and never returned to our folds. Those left behind became the Order of the Elements because they turned away from Ninjetti and vowed never to use it again as it had caused so much destruction during the first Beast War. Both Orders faded into secrecy but, whilst Pai Zhua forgot completely about us and the general ninja techniques, we never forgot about them, although we did turn away from kung fu for some reason, as tales about our history were passed down from master to master down the ranks to the present day," Cam answered.

"How..." Ethan began.

Cam shook his head as he held up a hand to stop Ethan. "Let me finish. It was my father who first accidentally recognised your technique for what it was. He was watching you practice your skills one day and, at the same time, he happened to be pouring over some of our oldest scrolls."

"Let me guess, he was pouring over the ones which detailed what happened to those who practised Ninjetti," Conner said.

Cam nodded. "Yes. You both happened to use a set of moves known as the Falcon and Crane stances whilst he was watching and he recognised that you both practised Ninjetti. At first, my father and I couldn't believe it but, after we both watched you together, we realised that you were indeed using the lost techniques. We talked and, after arriving at a general consensus, we agreed not to let you enter the academy so that your technique would be preserved completely. It took us a while to work out that your teacher had taught you Ninjetti techniques along with a number of his signature moves but, when we did, we were puzzled. We don't know how he managed to learn it in the first place but we were hoping that you might."

Ethan shook his head. "I can't remember him ever telling us."

"Neither can I although..." Conner began.

"Cam, come quickly!" Tori yelled just as she rushed into Ninja Operations.

"Tori, what has happened?" Cam asked instantly.

"You won't believe it unless you see it. Come on," she exclaimed as she grabbed his arm and led him upstairs. Conner and Ethan looked at each other.

"Come on, they're not going to hide anything else from us any more," Conner said as he quickly followed after Tori and Cam.

"Yeah," Ethan agreed as he ran after Conner.

_Somewhere near Blue Bay Harbour, Wind Ninja Academy, Inner Sanctum, very late in the evening, a few minutes later_

"Whoa..." Ethan said as they saw the glowing depiction of a warrior holding a shield with three spheres arranged in a triangle in the centre of it. The first sphere was also glowing. The writing around it identified the warrior as Ninjor and Ethan turned pale. "Talk about creepy considering..."

"What are they doing here?" Sensei Kanoi Watanabe demanded. Cam turned to see Conner and Ethan standing in the doorway.

"They probably followed me," Cam admitted as Hunter and Blake seized them. "I'm sorry, dad."

"Hey, let go! You're hurting me," Conner exclaimed.

"Get them out of here," Sensei snapped.

"No, dad, wait! They..." Cam began. However, before he could finish, Ethan suddenly managed to break free of Hunter, by knocking him to the ground with a powerful shove, as his skin began to glow with a blue tinge to it.

"Dino-Skin..." Conner breathed. "But that's..."

"Impossible," Ethan finished as he took a deep breath.

"It would mean that..." Conner began as he suddenly closed his eyes. A second later, Blake was on the ground as Conner managed to break free of him. He had also moved as far away as possible from the Wind and Thunder Ninja Rangers.

"Conner, are you thinking what I'm thinking at this moment?" Ethan asked with a smile. Conner nodded.

"I'm certainly thinking what you're thinking," he replied with a grin. "We're back in business."

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, very late in the evening, a few minutes later_

Tommy took another deep breath. As soon as the first vision of Conner and Ethan in the Wind Ninja Academy had passed, another hit him.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, very far from Corinth City, Hartford Mansion, Operation Overdrive base, very late in the evening, at that very moment_

"... Sentinel Knight, what can we do?" Rose begged as she stood before the Sentinel Knight. The Sentinel Knight shook his head.

"Nothing. I am afraid to say that they are on their own now," the Sentinel Knight replied grimly. "If we leave the mansion grounds, the barrier that the Mystic Rangers kindly put up around the mansion will not be able to protect us. Dax and Will should have listened to me but, of course, they chose not to."

"There must be something!" Ronny exclaimed. "We're not going to..."

"We have got no other choice," the Sentinel Knight replied. "Moltor, Flurious and the Fearcats have surrounded us so, even if we do try to leave, we will be killed or captured before we could find out about what happened to Dax and Will."

"The Sentinel Knight has a point, Rangers," Spencer added. "I'm worried about them both as well but I'm afraid that there is nothing that we can do to help them now."

"I just wish that Mack and Mr Hartford were here," Rose sighed. "If they were, we might actually be able to do something about the entire army waiting for us to exit the shield."

"Wishing will not help us right now. I am afraid that only a miracle or one of my associates can help us now," the Sentinel Knight replied simply.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, very late in the evening, another few minutes later_

"Zordon, what's happening?" Billy asked as the second vision cleared from Tommy's mind.

"Shh," Zordon warned as yet another vision hit Tommy at that moment as he took another deep breath.

_Mystic Realm, Palace of the Mystic Mother, Throne Room, very late in the evening, at that very moment_

"...Mystic Mother!" the Snow Prince yelled as he ran in. "We've got to leave. Octomus's forces are attacking yet again."

"No, Snow Prince, I'm not leaving. Not without it," Rita Repulsa, the Mystic Mother, replied as she searched for the switch at the back of the throne.

"Mystic Mother... we can't afford..." the Snow Prince began. "Octomus will destroy you."

"He'll try," Rita replied with a snort as she found the switch and pulled out a golden box, much similar to the one that Tommy was holding at that very moment, from within the throne. Then, she looked up to the Snow Prince as Koragg, the Knight Wolf, appeared at the edge of the door to the Throne Room.

"Now, we're leaving!" Rita exclaimed as the Knight Wolf cast a bolt of lightning at her. She reflected it back, grabbed the Snow Prince's arm and vanished.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, very late in the evening, a minute later_

As Tommy took another deep breath, he instantly dropped the box to the ground as the golden light vanished.

"What just happened?" Billy asked.

"What we must do next has just become clear to Tommy," Zordon replied simply.

"You should have warned me that I would start seeing things, Zordon," Tommy burst out. "I would've..."

"I thought that it would be best to surprise you," Zordon replied with a smile. "You had best pick the box up, Tommy."

"Oh no," Tommy said as he shook his head. "I'm not touching it for now. I don't want to see anything else."

RJ sighed and went for the box.

"RJ, I wouldn't..." Tommy began but it was too late as RJ put his hands around it. At that moment, RJ gasped and Tommy knew that RJ was being shown something as well.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, very late in the evening, at that very moment_

"...Casey, wait!" he yelled. "He didn't mean it..."

"Don't lie to me. I know that your father meant it, Ryan," Casey said as he continued to walk along the beach. "However, he is right that I've been acting too distant over the past two years. Sure, I'm your friend but, to he honest, do you actually know anything about me beyond my name and the few things that I've told you about my life?"

"No but..." Ryan began.

"Exactly," Casey said simply as he turned back to Ryan.

"It doesn't matter, though," Ryan replied simply. "You're still our friend regardless of what we know about you. Don't go."

Casey sighed. "I don't belong here and you know it."

"That's not true. My father didn't..." Ryan began.

"Lying won't make me feel better, Ryan," Casey snapped. "I _know _what is the truth and what isn't. It's a gift that I've had for a long time now so I know that what you're saying isn't the truth!"

Casey continued walking as Ryan stood there. It was clear by the expression on his face that he was quite stunned by this revelation. After a few minutes, he finally snapped out of his shock as he spotted Batlings appear on the beach.

"Casey, look out!" Ryan yelled. Casey turned rapidly and saw the Batlings. Then, he turned back and fled past Ryan as the Batlings opened fire.

"Titanium Power!" Ryan called as he opened up the panel on his Titanium Morpher and morphed into the Titanium Ranger. "Run, Casey, and get the others!"

Casey nodded and continued to flee down the beach.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, very late in the evening, a few minutes later_

"Wait! No!" RJ exclaimed as the vision passed.

However, before he could say anything else, another vision hit him.

_Somewhere in the Desert, USA, far from Corinth City, very late in the evening, at that very moment_

"Theo, help me... help me up..." Lily gasped as she struggled to get to her feet. Then, she collapsed into unconsciousness.

"Lily!" he exclaimed as he turned to her from where he stood nearby. Then, he looked around. The Grinders weren't anywhere in sight so he picked her up and calmly fled back to the makeshift tent that they had been given to sleep in.

"Oh Lily..." Theo said as he used the nearby bowl of water to wipe away the sweat from her forehead. "They had better find us soon before you get much worse."

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, very late in the evening, another few minutes later_

RJ instantly dropped the box as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Poor Lily..." he murmured. "It's all my fault..."

He was about to flee at that moment but Tommy stopped him.

"No. You're not going anywhere, my friend," Tommy said quite firmly as he forced RJ into the nearest chair. "To help them, Zordon needs to know what you saw just as much as he needs to know what I saw."

"Well, what did you see?" Billy asked as he took the cloth from Zordon's lap and carefully wrapped it around the box. Then, as carefully as possible, he also used the cloth to pick it up and put it in the other chair.

"Well, I..." Tommy began as he began to tell them what he had seen.

_Inquiris, very late in the evening, at that very moment_

As Dimitria of Inquiris opened her eyes whilst she awoke from a long trance at that moment, they had a strange golden tinge to them.

"Alpha 6, it has begun," she said simply to the robotic assistant who stood watching her from the nearby console.

_Desert of Despair, Temple of Power, very late in the evening, also at that very moment_

As Ninjor sat there in the centre of the Temple of Power, he felt the universe tremble because of the power which had been split and hidden long ago. Then, he sighed and closed his eyes.

"It has begun," Ninjor murmured softly. At that moment, he opened his eyes again as he heard someone approach. "I've been expecting you, Mike Corbett."

"How..." Mike Corbett began.

"My associates notified me of your coming. Welcome, Magna Defender, to the Temple of Power," Ninjor said with a chuckle as he made an exaggerated gesture. Then, he stood and made another exaggerated gesture as he began to make his way outside to the garden. "Come, we have much to discuss."

Mike Corbett sighed and, without saying anything else, began to follow after Ninjor into the garden.


	34. Chapter 23: Preparations

**Can't believe it has been nearly three years already since this novel started... time really has flown.**

** Anyway, just to let all of you know, I'm still currently working on getting the Odysseys up to date before I return to working on the main novel. Thunder Storm is ready, Lightspeed Fury is almost there and Galactic... well... is going to take a bit of work.**

**Once all of the Odysseys are ready, I will change this notice to let all of my readers know to keep an eye out for the return of Power Rangers: Worlds, Times and Distances Apart.  
**

**Until then,  
**

**_lauraac2110_**

Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Chapter 23: Preparations

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, the next day, very, very early in the morning, some time later_

The main Command Centre remained deadly quiet as RJ, Tommy and Billy waited for Zordon's opinion on the visions that Tommy and RJ had seen when they had touched the golden box.

"Well, it seems that we have got some considerable work to do. Your Dino Rangers, Tommy, should be our first priority before we talk about what else you both saw in more detail," Zordon said with a sigh.

There was a long moment of silence before Zordon sighed again. "Before we go any further, there is something that you should all know," he said grimly. "Conner and Ethan are able to use their abilities because... I restored their morphers earlier on today."

Tommy looked down at the floor. "I should've guessed," he said simply. "So, Zordon, what are we going to do to help my former students?"

"We are going to give them their morphers, and the Shield of Triumph, so that they can defend the Wind Ninja Academy from Lothor and his minions until the Ninja Storm Rangers find a way to restore their own powers," Zordon replied. "Alpha?"

"Right away, Zordon," Alpha replied as he scurried away to fetch the silver case. Zordon then smiled as a pen, an envelope and a piece of paper appeared in Tommy's hands without any warning.

"Zordon..." Tommy began with a startled expression upon his face.

Zordon smiled. "I thought that you might like to use this time as we wait to write a letter to reassure your former students that you, Trent and Kira are safe. Besides, they need to know a few things about our current situation and, since you cannot go to them directly right now, a letter might be the best way to do it," he explained.

Tommy nodded. "Very well," he replied. "But what about the rest of you?"

"We're going to discuss a few thingsthat happened yesterday right now. Like how Cestria was helped by you, of all people, to thaw Corinth," Billy replied.

"I didn't..." Tommy began in surprise before he stopped.

There was a long moment of silence before Tommy asked simply instead, "How could I have helped Cestria whilst I was unconscious?"

Zordon shrugged. "Who knows? However, all that matters is that you did," he replied grimly. "You are more dangerous than I first thought."

"Zordon?" Tommy asked with a startled expression upon his face.

"Your powers is acting rather unpredictably, Tommy. If you're using your powers to carry out powerful acts, it means that there must be a part of you somewhere in that mind of yours that _knows _how to wield your powers," he explained.

Tommy was about to ask how this could be but RJ, who knew what he was about to ask, quickly decided to explain before he could.

"Tommy, I think that I speak correctly when I say that doing the things that you did yesterday normally require a massive amount of training beforehand," RJ explained.

"And experience," Billy added. "Yet you managed quite easily to do all of those things all by yourself."

"On its own, that fact signals that you are quite a powerful natural talent. However, on top of that, you did all of those things yesterday subconsciously whilst you were unconscious," Zordon sighed. "I am afraid that you could very easily hurt someone close to you without meaning to. More easily than I first thought, that is."

Tommy turned pale. "Am I that bad?"

Zordon chuckled before he nodded. "Yes, I am afraid you are. Until you have complete conscious control over what you are doing with your powers, I am afraid that you are going to have to be _extremely_ careful," he said grimly.

"I will," Tommy promised as he turned his attention to the letter. As he started it with "_Dear Conner and Ethan,", _Billy asked Zordon about Icia's crown.

"Ah," Zordon said with a smile. "It is quite an interesting enchanted crown if I may say so myself."

He paused for a moment as he took a deep breath before he went into a detailed explanation about his earlier examination of it. "From what I can tell, it has..."

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, very early in the morning, some time later_

"...So you see, we need to keep Kimberly as far away as possible from the crown. It is an especially dangerous object which might have several, shall we say unwanted, effects upon her," Zordon concluded as he finished telling them all about Icia's crown.

At that moment, Alpha returned with the silver case as Tommy finished the letter.

"I'm back with the case," he declared as he began to make his way over to Zordon.

"Bring the case over here first, Alpha. I need to put this letter in the case first," Tommy said gently as he sealed the letter in the envelope and addressed it to Conner and Ethan.

Alpha nodded and brought the silver case to Tommy first. He quickly put the letter into the case and passed it back to Alpha.

Then, Alpha carried the case to Zordon.

"Zordon?" Alpha asked.

"Hold out the silver case, Alpha. I need to seal it to make sure that only the Dino Rangers can open it," he commanded. Alpha nodded and obeyed instantly.

Within a few minutes, the case began to glow with an eerie white light. Then, there was an audible click as the glow vanished. Zordon smiled wearily for a moment in satisfaction before the weariness vanished.

"Are you sure that you can do this, Zordon?" Tommy asked with concern as Alpha handed Zordon the silver case.

Zordon nodded. "Of course, Tommy. I will go there and be back in a matter of minutes," he reassured as he took up his staff with his free hand. Seconds later, he vanished in a flash of light.

"Now, I guess, all we can do is wait," RJ said with a sigh.

_Somewhere near Blue Bay Harbour, Wind Ninja Academy, McKnight/James Dormitory, very early in the morning, a few minutes later_

As Zordon crept into the room, all of its occupants were fast asleep. He gently set the case down at the side of Conner and Ethan's bunks. Then, he smiled as he looked upon the other two Dino Thunder Rangers.

"Blessings of Zordon, sage of Eltar,upon you both," Zordon whispered. "Sleep well, Rangers, as you are going to need to be ready to drive Lothor off tomorrow again."

Zordon sighed. Then, he quietly crept back out of the room again and, as soon as he was safely out in the corridor again, he vanished in a flash of light.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, very early in the morning, a few minutes later_

As Zordon reappeared, he had a smile upon his face.

"Well?" Tommy asked anxiously.

"They are just fine, Tommy," Zordon assured. "And they are still safely within the Wind Ninja Academy."

Tommy sighed in relief at this and smiled.

"I was worried that Sensei Watanabe had thrown them out into the harsh wasteland because of the fact that they entered the sacred inner sanctum of the Wind Ninja Academy without his permission," he admitted freely.

"So, Zordon, what do we do now?" RJ asked grimly.

Zordon sighed. "We are now going to talk about everything else you saw and where we have to go from here. Come, this is not the place to discuss our plans," he said as he turned and made his way through to his bedroom with Alpha following close behind him.

Billy, Tommy and RJ sighed. Then, they grimly followed after Zordon and Alpha into Zordon's bedroom as they made their way to the Observatory.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Observatory, very early in the morning, a few minutes later_

"Please, take a seat all of you," Zordon said calmly as he sat down in his white leather chair. Tommy sat beside him in the black one as Zordon conjured up another two chairs for Billy and RJ to sit in. They sat down as Zordon sighed.

"The stars are making the sky look beautiful tonight," he said as he gazed out at the stars through the massive viewing screen.

"They are, aren't they?" Tommy agreed. Then, he sighed as well.

"What is it?" Billy asked.

"It's nothing," Tommy replied shortly. "So, Zordon, what are we going to do?"

"I am afraid that we are going to have to split up," Zordon replied simply. "There are just too many things that we need to do and we are not going to be able to do them as one massive group."

"I'm going to go to this Lightspeed Aquabase and fetch Casey. Then, I'm going to find Theo and Lily with Casey's help," RJ said quite firmly. "Lily is running out of time so I'm going to have to move quickly. Judging by the look of her in that vision, I don't think that she'll be able to last much longer."

Tommy nodded. "While you are searching for your friends, I'm going to try to get that second box. The Mystic Rangers probably sealed away the Mystic Realm behind a powerful barrier to prevent Venjix's forces getting through during the Venjix invasion so I'm going to need help. From the vision, I'm guessing that the Operation Overdrive Rangers and the Sentinel Knight contacted the Mystic Rangers on the day of the invasion to get protection," he explained simply.

"So, you think that they'll be able to contact the Mystic Rangers in the Mystic Realm?" Billy asked. Tommy nodded.

"Yes. I think that they will. However, if the Operation Overdrive Rangers don't have a way to contact the Mystic Rangers, I can always borrow Excelsior from them. I'm sure that I'll be able to use it to cut a hole through the barrier into the Mystic Realm if I have to," he replied.

"Is Excelsior really that powerful?" RJ asked.

"It belongs to the Warrior Goddess, RJ. That's why it's so powerful," Billy answered.

There was a long moment of silence before Zordon spoke again

"Whilst RJ and Tommy are gone, we are going to need someone with enough experience and knowledge to lead the Rangers," he said calmly. "Billy, I think that it should be you."

Billy suddenly turned pale. "Me?" he exclaimed. "What about Jason? He would be a better choice."

"Jason will probably want to go with Tommy," RJ pointed out.

"No, RJ. Although Jason will want to go with me, I'm going to send him with you, RJ. You're going to need all the support out there that you can get," Tommy disagreed. "And, for the record, I think that you're the best candidate for leader out of everyone else, Billy."

"But..." Billy began as he turned paler.

"Don't worry, Billy. I know that you'll do just fine," RJ assured.

"Besides, I can't leave Scott Truman in charge. He's too inexperienced for the job right now," Tommy added with a grin. "And I don't want to give Colonel Truman any foothold to take command of the Power Rangers. We're still technically civilians and not military personnel."

Billy grimaced. "Ok. You've made it absolutely clear to me that I'm the only one that you trust in charge," he declared. "I'll do my best to lead the Rangers in the defence of Corinth whilst you're both gone."

"That is all we can ask of you, Billy," Zordon assured as he decided to change the topic. "So, who are you both taking with you?"

"I'm going to take Trent and Kira. They're the only two people who'll be able to contend with the genetic enhancements which Andrew Hartford made to his Rangers and himself," Tommy replied. "Speaking of Andrew Hartford, I've just remembered a good story. He never discovered that the genetic enhancement he made to himself actually worked until a full six months later."

"I seem to remember you telling me about this. What ability did he end up with?" Billy asked curiously.

Tommy chuckled. "Levitation. He fell off a cliff during one of his archaeological explorations and, if it hadn't been for the levitation, he would have almost certainly died," he explained.

"Oh yeah, I remember now," Billy said as he blinked. "You had to help Adam come up with a way of helping Andrew Hartford control his ability. Didn't you suggest the shock treatment?"

"Yeah," Tommy replied with a fond smile. "And it worked. Adam ended up using Alpha 7 to distract him whilst Mack crept up on him and gave him the fright of his life."

Tommy sighed. "I hope that they're all right. The Hartfords were in Africa during the Venjix invasion so we can hope that they've escaped the worst of it," he said grimly. "And we can hope that Adam and the others are still alive out there somewhere as well."

"I am sure that they are alive, Tommy," Zordon assured.

There was yet another long period of silence.

"I know that I'm going to be taking Dominic and his Rhino Steel Zord for protection. And, since you insist, I'll also take Jason as well. I'm sure that we're going to need muscle to get Lily and Theo out of the situation that they're in," RJ finally said.

"That's all you're taking. Your teams are remarkably small," Billy remarked. "And I noticed that none of the RPM Power Rangers are in either of your teams."

"Our teams have to be small because we're going to need an entire team of Rangers in Corinth so that there's a decent defence against evil beings here," Tommy replied. "Besides, you, Zack, Trini and Kimberly are the best people to keep certain RPM Power Rangers under control."

"Ah," Billy said simply before he remembered the box. He blinked and groaned. "I'll be back in a minute."

Then, he got up and rushed out of the Observatory.

"We forgot to bring the box with us," Tommy said grimly as he knew instantly why Billy had left.

"And he's worried that someone else might find it there," RJ added. "We shouldn't have been so careless."

"I agree," Zordon said grimly. "We should have been more careful."

"Don't worry, Zordon. No one else is up this early in the morning normally anyway," Billy replied as he brought back the box. "Guys, did you see the inscription on this box?"

Tommy blinked. "There's an inscription on that golden box?" he asked with surprise. Billy nodded.

"It is one third of an ancient prophecy which Dimitria once churned out. I should have told you about it earlier but, alas, I forgot all about it," Zordon sighed before he recited it. "If I remember correctly, it goes something along the lines of... _I am the balance of good and evil, I can be either or neither or both. I am the first part of that which was separated long ago by the Powers of Good and Evil. The other three parts are not hidden but the third is the most difficult to find. It is separated between the six who began the legacy and the six will restore it in Time. The Wolf, the Messenger from __the Spirits beyond, will be the Key to the final salvation or damnation of the one destined to wield me_."

Billy blinked. "You've got a good memory, Zordon. You recited the inscription, which just also happens to be in the oldest form of Latin known to man, perfectly," he complimented as he removed the cloth.

Zordon smiled. "I am tens of thousands of years old, Billy. When you get to be as old as I am, you develop a brilliant memory for prophecies, legends and villains although I tend to forget names and faces quite easily now."

Tommy and RJ were quite quiet and pale as they wondered what the last bit of the prophecy about the final salvation or damnation could mean. RJ was the one, though, who finally asked about it.

Zordon sighed. "I am afraid that I do not know," was his honest reply. "Prophecies, especially the ones that come out of Dimitria's lips, are difficult to interpret."

"I wonder what would happen if you took up that box again, Tommy. You should try it," Billy said as he held the box out to Tommy. Tommy grimaced.

_I don't want to touch that thing again but I think that I should try to touch it to see whether or not we'll be hit with visions every time we touch the box or not. _Tommy thought as he looked to RJ for a moment and sighed. _It's also better if I touch it again than RJ, I suppose. Seeing Lily suffering really hurt him._

"All right, I'll try," Tommy said grimly. "We need to know whether or not we're going to get visions every time we touch the box or not."

Hesitantly, Tommy reached out and gently took the box from Billy. Then, he blinked.

"What is it?" Billy asked urgently as he feared that something was horribly wrong.

"Nothing happened," Tommy replied simply.

Zordon smiled. "It appears to me that the power which was split and hidden long ago doesn't have anything else to show either of you."

"Now all that's left for me to do is hide this box somewhere safe until I return before everyone else wakes up," Tommy said grimly as dawn began to break outside. All of them were surprised that they had been talking for so long that it was now early in the morning but said nothing as Tommy continued speaking. "Fortunately, I have just the place."

And, with that, Tommy left as Zordon sighed.

"It had better be somewhere that even I don't know about!" he called after Tommy.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Heart of the Brachiozord, early in the morning, a few minutes later_

As Tommy held up his Brachio Morpher to the scanner on the vault door, he was especially glad that he hadn't shown Zordon around this place.

The Heart of the Brachiozord. It was where the central system core was stored within a heavily protected vault. It was also where Tommy planned to leave the first box of that which was split and hidden long ago until he returned.

Tommy knew that no one, except himself, would ever be able to get into the vault. There were twenty different security systems in place just at the vault door alone and, as far as he could remember, a further twenty within the vault itself. They were a little excessive, Tommy knew that, but they were absolutely necessary. The system core, with all the valuable information on the Rangers that it held, had to be protected at all costs.

Even if it did mean that Tommy had to risk his life every single time that he entered the vault.

As the vault door slid open, Tommy grimly made his way over to the safe in the centre of the room. Then, as he opened the safe, he instinctively ducked to avoid the random shot that one of the hidden guns fired at him to test his reflexes before he leapt to avoid a further shot from another of the hidden guns at his feet.

Before another gun could shoot again, Tommy stuffed the golden box into the safe and slammed it shut. Then, he fled from the vault and closed the door behind him. If he hadn't shut the door behind him, he knew that the final security system would have activated. And he certainly didn't want that to happen again.

A shiver ran up his spine as he thought about the last time the final security system had activated. By mistake, he had left the vault door open when he had last went into the vault to fix a fault in the system core a few months ago. If he hadn't managed to get out of the way in time back then, the final security system would have certainly killed him...

Another shiver ran up his spine. At that moment, Tommy decided that he didn't want to think about the final security system or the vault any further so he turned his thoughts instead to everyone else as he made his way back up to the main Command Centre.

_Perhaps it will be time for breakfast when I get back up there... _he mused as he walked.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early in the morning, another few minutes later_

"Hey, Tommy, did you hide it somewhere good?" RJ asked as Tommy entered the main Command Centre.

Tommy smiled. "Of course. It's going to be perfectly safe until we return."

RJ nodded as he yawned. "I'm tired. Seriously, I think that I'm going to need to get some serious rest soon," he said.

Tommy nodded. "Me too," he agreed as he yawned as well.

At that moment, the lift down to the Ranger Planning Room appeared with Billy on it.

"It must be contagious," Billy smiled as he yawned as well. "Zordon sent me to fetch both of you as he was worried that everyone else might get suspicious if you didn't show up soon."

"We're coming, Billy," RJ assured as he turned to Tommy. "Aren't we, Tommy?"

Tommy nodded. "Of course. We can't have everyone getting suspicious," he agreed as they both stepped onto the lift with Billy. Seconds later, the lift began to head down to the Ranger Planning Room as Tommy yawned yet again.

_I'm going to have to be careful. If everyone notices that I'm tired, they'll start to ask questions about what we were up to last night. We definitely can't have that happening. _Tommy thought with alarm just before the lift arrived at its destination.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, early in the morning, a few minutes later_

As Tommy, RJ and Billy entered, everyone fell silent in anticipation. Tommy groaned.

"I have already told them that you have got an important announcement to make, Tommy," Zordon said grimly as the three of them sat in their respective chairs and removed their helmets. "You might want to make it quickly before everyone gets their hopes up unnecessarily."

Tommy sighed. "I suppose so, Zordon," he said as he stood up.

Then, Tommy leaned forward onto the table for support as he continued with, "Several important things have come up which require our attention."

There was a long moment of silence.

"I'm afraid that these matters require Tommy and I to leave Corinth for a while," RJ continued. "And we're only going to be taking a few of you along with us as support."

"Whilst they're gone, they've elected me to be in charge of defending Corinth with everyone who remains behind," Billy finished.

"But what about..." Jason began.

"You and Dominic are going to be coming with me, Jason," RJ interrupted. "I now know where my Rangers are."

"And we're going to retrieve them," Dominic surmised. RJ nodded.

"To put it simply, yes," RJ replied.

Everyone turned to Tommy.

"What about you, Dr O.?" Trent asked.

"It's funny that you should ask, Trent," Tommy replied with a smile. "I need you and Kira to come with me."

"Where are we going?" Kira asked.

"Some friends of yours are in trouble. I intend to go help them out because I need their help to get me into the Mystic Realm," he answered. "The Mystic Mother is going to be needing my particular talents against the forces of a particularly nasty villain called Octomus."

"The Master? I heard all about him from Xander once," Kira said as she turned pale. "He was so dangerously powerful that the Mystic Rangers nearly lost their lives defeating him."

"You've forgotten that the accident resurrected him and, with the massive hordes at his disposal, he is even more dangerously powerful than he was before," Tommy pointed out grimly.

"Will they..." Anton began.

Tommy shook his head. "Absolutely not. Once I help the Operation Overdrive Rangers, I'll be sending them both straight back here. The only person entering the Mystic Realm will be me. I promise you that, Anton."

Anton nodded.

"But..." Kira began.

"No. I know that you would want to see your friend again but I'm afraid that I can't let you come with me into the Mystic Realm. You'll have no protection from the dangerous forces of magic there so they'll be able to kill you instantly."

"And you will?" Scott asked.

Tommy sighed before he nodded. "Yes," he replied. "Let's just say that I've had a lot of experience where dangerous magic is concerned."

There was a long moment of silence before Gem and Gemma spoke up.

"Why can't you take some of the rest of us as well?" Gem asked.

"Yeah, I mean..." Gemma began.

Tommy shook his head. "No. There has to be enough Rangers here in Corinth to maintain an effective defence against evil whilst we're gone," he replied quite firmly. "Just because we're leaving, it doesn't mean that the great evils will stop trying to capture or destroy Corinth whilst we're gone."

"In actual fact, they'll probably start trying even harder to attack Corinth whilst we're gone so you're going to have to be prepared for absolutely anything," Jason admitted grimly. "However, with Zordon and Billy guiding you, you should be all right."

"I still wish we could go," Ziggy murmured.

"Yeah, me too," Flynn added.

"I don't see why you can't just..." Kimberly began. It was clear by the expression on her face that she was extremely unhappy with the fact that she was staying behind.

"As far as I'm concerned, no one else is going and that's final," Tommy snapped angrily to silence all those dissatisfied with his decision. He paused for a moment to calm down before he sighed. "Now, with that out of the way, let's finish breakfast. Once it is over, I intend to leave as quickly as possible so those who aren't coming with us are going to have to gather up the supplies whilst those who are going with us prepare to leave."

He sat down again at that moment. Then, he started to finish his breakfast just as an uncomfortable silence began to fill the room.

_Oh man... _Tommy thought as he groaned inwardly._ This is probably going to be the most awkward breakfast ever..._

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ranger Planning Room, mid-morning, some time later_

As soon as everyone had finished their breakfast, Tommy quietly got up and left without a word and everyone soon followed after him. When it was only himself and Alpha left, Zordon sighed sadly.

"Zordon?" Alpha asked anxiously.

"It is nothing, Alpha," Zordon replied as he got up. "Come, we have a few preparations to make."

Alpha nodded. "Yes, Zordon."

And, with that, Zordon and Alpha 5 left the Ranger Planning Room.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zeo base, mid-morning, a few minutes later_

As Tommy searched his wardrobe for a good outfit to wear, he was glad that he had been sensible enough to automate the wardrobe as he wouldn't have been able to fetch stuff from his other wardrobes otherwise.

When he finally spotted the white leather jacket, he finally knew what he was going to wear. He took the jacket, a white-shirt and a white pair of trousers out of the wardrobe before he went for a much needed shower.

When he returned from his shower, he put the dirty clothing that he had been wearing into the laundry chute. Then, he grabbed a towel and dried himself off before he changed into the new outfit. After that, he put the towel into the laundry chute and sighed.

_It's going to be a long, difficult journey from here on in. I'm going to miss the Brachiozord and the RPM Power Rangers as well. _Tommy thought as he smiled. _It's hard not to like them once you get to know them. Especially, the twins and Ziggy..._

He snapped out of his thoughts as he stood there at that moment and sighed again. _Let's hope that they're now ready to face the evils who will attack Corinth whilst we're gone. If they aren't, Billy is going to have a big problem..._

He sighed yet again before he decided that he had to stop thinking, and worrying, about the RPM Power Rangers. Instead, he turned his thoughts to the Falconzord and decided then that he wanted to run a diagnostic check upon its systems before they left.

At that moment, he left the Zeo base and began to make his way to the Ninjazord hangar.

_Let's just hope that I've still got enough time left to check out the Falconzord systems and, if necessary, make essential repairs to them. _Tommy thought as he made his way down to the Ninjazord hangar. _I don't want to be left vulnerable out in that desert if any of the systems were to fail in mid-flight..._

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Original base, mid-morning, at that very moment_

As Kimberly looked herself over in the mirror, she knew that she had finally chosen the perfect outfit for the harsh conditions out in the desert. It was stylish yet it was also still extremely practical.

However, it had one downfall. It completely gave her intentions away. Anyone who saw her in it would know instantly that she was planning to stowaway under the packs in the Falconzord because she didn't want to miss out on the chance to get away from Corinth on a mission.

She sighed. _Now, all I have to do is..._

At that moment, Kimberly was snapped out of her thoughts as the door opened. In the nearby mirror, Kimberly saw that Trini had entered and she gulped.

"You're going to stowaway in the Falconzord, aren't you?" Trini guessed instantly as soon as she saw what Kimberly was wearing. Kimberly nodded as she flushed guiltily.

"Ah," was all Trini said as she came over to Kimberly.

For a few tense moments, a deadly silence filled the air until Kimberly finally broke it.

"Don't try to stop me, Trini," she blurted out. "I really need the change of surroundings right now."

"I'm not going to," Trini reassured as she smiled. "Someone is going to really have to keep Tommy from doing anything stupid whilst he's gone. Who better than one of the few people who know him best?"

Kimberly blinked. "But..." she began.

Trini just shook her head. "I won't stop you and I won't say anything to the others," she promised. "Did you really think that I would do such a thing, Kimberly?"

There was a long pause before Trini sighed.

"Don't answer that," she continued. "Anyway, I suggest that you get out of here before Billy, Jason or Zack show up. They should be back soon, I think."

Kimberly nodded as she smiled. "Thanks, Trini. I'll see you when I get back," she promised as she fled.

Trini smiled as she watched Kimberly go. _If I know them as well as I do, it will certainly be very... interesting on their journey. Trent and Kira have no idea what they're going to be facing soon... _she thought. _I pity them..._

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Jungle Fury base, mid-morning, also at that very moment_

"I'm excited that we're finally going to find Casey, Theo and Lily. Aren't you?" Dominic smiled as he and RJ sat on RJ's bed. Fran sat in Dominic's lap and she was looking up at RJ with concern as he never replied to Dominic.

"What's wrong, RJ?" Dominic finally asked.

"It's nothing," RJ replied with a sigh.

"Liar," Dominic grinned. "Now, spit it out. What is bothering you?"

"It's Lily, Dominic," RJ admitted. "I'm afraid that I know that her injury has crippled her. It's all my fault."

Dominic turned pale. "Are you...?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," RJ replied with a sigh. "I'm worried that it'll already be too late to save her by the time we get to her."

"Then, we should rescue her first," Dominic suggested.

"It's not that simple. I'm afraid that we must go to Casey first as we're going to need his help to rescue both Theo and Lily," RJ explained.

There was a long moment of silence before Fran squeaked and Dominic sighed.

"I see," he said simply. "You know, you shouldn't be blaming yourself for what happened to Lily. Remember, there are no such things as coincidences. Only fate."

RJ nodded. "I know," he said simply as he smiled sadly at Fran and Dominic. "But that doesn't mean that I'm not at fault for what happened."

He got up at that moment and left without another word.

"Hey, wait! RJ!" Dominic exclaimed as he picked up Fran and chased after him.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Dino Thunder base, mid-morning, also at that very moment_

"I guess this is goodbye, dad, for now anyway," Trent said with a sigh as soon as he and Kira were ready to leave.

Anton nodded. "I'm going to miss you, son," he admitted freely. "Take care out there."

"We will," Kira replied with a small smile.

"And, when they can't, Tommy will protect them, Anton," Hayley said sadly.

"Yeah, Dr O. will protect us if anything goes wrong," Trent agreed. "You know that he'll lay down his life for us if he had to."

"He fears what you'll do to him if anything happens to your only son, Dr Mercer," Kira added.

Anton grinned. "That's true."

There was a long moment of silence before Hayley sighed.

"Come on, you two, I think that we should head down to the Ninjazord hangar. It should be about time for you to go," Hayley said as she stood up. "Anton, are you going to come?"

Anton shook his head. "No, I'll stay here. I just need some time alone," he replied as Trent and Kira got up.

Trent sighed at this and, without another word, he and Kira left the Dino Thunder base with Hayley to make their way down to the Ninjazord hangar.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ninjazord hangar, mid-morning, also at that very moment_

"That's all of the packs for the Falconzord ready and in the Zord," Billy called as he leapt out of the Falconzord after he checked all of the packs. "We should quickly take the remainder of the packs to the Rhino Steel Zord in the Spirit Zord hangar so that we can be here for everyone leaving."

"Why do we have to do this?" Flynn grumbled as the Rangers who weren't leaving began to pick up the assorted packs between them. "Surely the others, since they are the ones who are leaving, should be the ones to do this?"

"No. They've got enough to worry about right now," Zack said quite firmly as soon as everyone had picked up all of the packs. "Now, come on."

There were a few more grumbles as they left for the Spirit Zord Hangar with the packs but no one else voiced them loud enough to be heard by Zack because they were afraid of what he would do to them.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ninjazord hangar, mid-morning, a few minutes later_

As Kimberly entered the Ninjazord hangar, the Falconzord regarded her with its golden eyes. However, before it could alert anyone to her presence, she put her finger to her lip and hoped that it would understand that she wanted it to be quiet.

It did. It did nothing as she hesitantly approached it and slipped into the cockpit.

As soon as she was in the cockpit, Kimberly sighed in relief.

_I can't believe that this is all going to plan. Usually there's always something that goes horribly wrong but, this time, it seems that... _she thought.

At that moment, she cursed herself for even thinking that as she heard someone enter the Ninjazord hangar behind her. As quickly as possible, she carefully concealed herself underneath the packs in such a way that she would still be able to breath whilst remaining hidden to anyone who looked upon the packs.

Then, she remained as still and as silent as she possibly could whilst she hoped that no one would find her there under the packs.

Meanwhile, Tommy, who had been the one who had entered the Ninjazord hangar, suddenly stopped in his tracks as soon as he looked directly into the eyes of the Falconzord. Then, he sighed as it secretly revealed to him that Kimberly was attempting to stowaway within.

_She never listens..._ he thought. Then, he shrugged. _Oh well. If Kimberly wants to come, I'm not going to stop her. I'll be glad of her company anyway. Now, I had better run those system checks..._

And, without another thought, Tommy went over to the Falconzord and, after removing one of the outer panels, began to run the checks on the sentient Zord's systems.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Spirit Zord hangar, mid-morning, at that very moment_

"All the packs are in place. Now, we had better get back up to the Ninjazord hangar so we can see the others off," Billy said with a smile.

"I'll race you, guys," Zack said with a mischievous smile. "Last one up there will have to carry out some boring chore on behalf of Alpha and Zordon!"

"What?" Billy exclaimed as Zack fled. "Hey, no fair!"

Seconds later, he and the other Rangers in the Spirit Zord hangar raced after him.

_Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Ninjazord hangar, mid-morning, a few minutes later_

As soon as everyone had gathered in the Ninjazord hangar, Zordon arrived with Alpha 5 at his side.

"Rangers, I wish all of you good luck on your travels," Zordon said to everyone who had assembled to leave. "Just stay safe out there."

Tommy smiled. "We'll be all right, Zordon. And I promise you that we'll be successful as well."

He paused for a moment before he turned to Trent and Kira.

"Come, it's time for us to go," he said simply to them. They nodded and, with a wave to the others, Trent and Kira followed Tommy into the Falconzord.

Alpha opened the hangar doors at that moment and, seconds later, the Falconzord flew off into the distance. Everyone watched it go for a moment before RJ sighed.

"I guess that it is our turn," RJ said grimly. "Alpha, release the Rhino Steel Zord. Dominic? Jason?"

Dominic drew the Control Dagger as he and Jason nodded in reply to RJ. Then, the three of them leapt out of the hangar door onto the Rhino Steel Zord before it began to charge out into the desert.

Everyone else watched them go sadly for several moments before the hangar door closed.

"I..." Zordon began. However, before he could finish, the alarm went off and the lighting went red.

"It's time to get back to work, guys," Billy said grimly. "It seems that evil didn't waste any time in attacking Corinth."

"Right," was the unanimous reply from all the Power Rangers and, without saying anything else, they left for the main Command Centre with Billy.

Zordon watched them go with a sigh. _Let us hope that it is not one of the more powerful evil __being__s. If it is, we might just have a massive problem on our hands..._


End file.
